Labour reforms and their impact on employment security in

Labour reforms and their impact on employment security in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria

Ibukun O Kolawole

University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa Durban 2013

This research study is

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of

Humanities

University of KwaZulu-Natal

Howard College Campus

Durban

South Africa

ii

Declaration

I Ibukun Olorunisola Kolawole declare that the research reported in this thesis except where

otherwise indicated and is my original research This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or

examination at any other university This thesis does not contain other personsrsquo data pictures graphs

or other information unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons This

thesis does not contain other personsrsquo writing unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced

from other researchers Where other written sources have been quoted their words have been re-

written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced Where their exact words

have been used their writing has been placed inside quotation marks and referenced This thesis

does not contain text graphics or tables copied and pasted from the internet unless specifically

acknowledged and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the references sections

22 January 2013

Signed

iii

Acknowledgements

One day I will define success using myself as an example and I will say a big thank you to those

whose shoulders I leant on when I couldnrsquot do it all by myself Writing this thesis was a lonely and

frustrating endeavour and I would like to acknowledge and thank various friends who made it

bearable and cheered me all the way to the end

I am indeed very grateful to Dr Elias Cebekhulu for his endless guidance and support during this

work in spite of his busy academic schedule and union activities he still found time for me He

provided insightful comments that made the work better and gave me encouragement when the

journey was thorny I am highly indebted to him Professor Banji Fajonyomi as dean of the Faculty

of Management Science was instrumental in creating the space for me to take time off from my desk

at the Lagos State University to embark on a PhD

Oluyinka Kolawole I cannot express sufficient gratitude to you for your understanding listening

from start to finish especially for encouraging me at those lowest times when I felt like quitting My

mother for her contribution to my basic education support and prayers during the course of this

programme she was always willing to give me support and several times offered to assist

financially

Bolaji has proved to be a very good friend he is always there to remind me that lsquoman shall not live

by books alonersquo by the occasional outings that normally gave me some relief from research Dele

Asokere and Dr Yunus Dauda have indeed proved to be a great friends and brothers when funding

was not forthcoming they were there to assist Hart has also proved to be a good friend by

encouraging me and for things too numerous to mention and to Professor Sola Fajana and Funmi

Adewumi for their contributions to my academic growth and career

Cyril Mthembu the former post-graduate administrator in the faculty for his recommendations he

initiated the discussion to be supervised by Dr Elias Cebekhulu and he has been a great friend

thereafter Nqobile Khuzwayo and Oloyede Ajiboye have been very helpful during these past three

years and lastly Professor Kola Odeku and Dr Olasunkanmi Anwo for encouraging me to embark on

this academic voyage I also appreciate and send fraternal greetings to my friends and comrades in

iv

the struggle for the emancipation of Nigerian oil workers from the exploitative tendencies of the

capitalist multinational oil companies I remind you that it is only by struggle that victory comes

v

Dedication

This study is dedicated to the memory of my late father Olatunji Kolawole who contributed

significantly in my basic education and would have enjoyed witnessing this moment of my life

vi

Abstract

The central aim of this study is to examine and investigate the impacts of labour market reforms and

flexibility trends on employment security in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria The

implementation of these labour market reforms has led to the decline in permanent employment in

the oil sector where outsourcing part-time jobs temporary employment and other forms of atypical

employment has taken over The study also considers the international dimensions to labour

flexibility as organisational methods of reducing labour cost The rationale behind these reforms was

to deregulate the sector and make it more flexible to the laws of supply and demand The study asked

some questions that are centrally concerned with labour market regulations and atypical

employment The research is informed by a number of problems that relate to the types of labour

market reforms that were implemented by the management of Shell Petroleum Development

Company in Nigeria how have the labour market reforms affected job security and benefits of

workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company the implications of such reforms on an

individual workerrsquos income in Shell Petroleum Development Company the implications of such

reforms on the livelihood of the workers and how have these labour market reforms ignited worker-

organised union and community resistance in Nigeria

In providing answers to these questions the researcher was able to achieve the objective of the study

which is to investigate the impacts of labour reforms on the employment security of Shell workers in

Nigeria Firstly the study examined different theoretical contributions to the study of labour market

flexibility Secondly it engages literatures on the growing trend of labour market flexibility and the

erosion of job and employment security which subsequently led to labour market regulation

Thirdly the work situation in Shell was considered using contemporary research and data and it was

discovered that there is a degradation of work and lack of quality working life particularly among

the segmented workers Finally I gave some recommendations that could bring about improvement

in the employment conditions of segmented workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company in

Nigeria

vii

Table of Contents

Declarationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipii

Acknowledgementshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipiii

Dedicationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipv

Abstracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellipvi

Chapter One

The New World Order

Labour Market Reforms and Flexibility Implication for Employment Security

11 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip2

12 Backgroundhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip6

13 Hypothesishelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

14 Objectives of the Studyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip13

15 Principal Theorieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip14

16 The Scope and Outline of the Chaptershelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip15

Chapter Two

Literature Review


22 Conceptual Understanding of Labour Market Reformshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip17

23 General Concept of Labour Market Flexibilityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip18

24 Evolution of Labour Market Reforms and Labour Flexibilityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip22

25 Trade Unions Movement and Labour Reforms in Nigeriahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip27

viii

26 The great lsquoRegulationrsquo and lsquoDeregulationrsquo Debate in the Labour Marketshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip32

27 Labour Market Reforms and the Changing Employment Trendshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip33

28 Labour Market Reforms and Employment (in) Securityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip33

29 Analysis of Trends and Reforms in the Labour Markethelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip41 291 Flexibility and Global Labour Market Segmentationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip46

292 Who Benefits from the Labour Market Reforms49

293 Regulation of the Labour Markethelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip51

210 Flexicurity as a Form of Labour Market Regulationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip52

211 Regulation of Labour Market in Nigeriahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip53

212 Labour Size Unemployment and Job Creation Efforthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip57

213 Labour Market Reforms The Case of Shell Petroleum Development Companyhelliphelliphelliphellip58

214 Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip60

Chapter Three

Theoretical Framework Underpinning the Study


32 Conceptual understanding of Labour Market Reforms 321 Marxist Theory in Relation to Mode of Production and Capitalist Social Formationhelliphelliphellip62

322 Capitalist and their Labour Exploitation Tendencieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip62 3221 The Capitalistrsquos Compulsion to Accumulatehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip64

3222 The Tendency Towards Constant Technological Revolutionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip67

ix

3223 The Capitalistrsquos Unquenchable Thirst for Surplus Value Extractionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip67

3224 The Tendency Towards Growing Concentration and Centralisation of Capitalhelliphelliphelliphellip68

3225 The Inevitability of Class Struggle under Capitalismhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip69

3226 The Tendency Towards Growing Social Polarisationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip69

3227 The Crisis of Capitalismhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip70

33 Dual Labour Market Theoryhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip72

34 The Classical School and Neoclassical School Theoryhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip75

35 Contract Theory of Labour Markethelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip78

36 Institutional Theory of Labour Market Flexibilityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip80


Chapter Four

Research Methodology and Approach

41 Introductionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip85

42 The Relevance of Reviewing the Literaturehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip86

43 The Research Approachhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip87

44 The Research Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip88

441 Populationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip89

442 Sampling Designhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip90

443 Sampling Techniquehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip91

x

45 Data Collection Methodshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip91

46 Data Analysis Techniqueshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip91

461 Qualitative Data Analysis Technique92

462 Quantitative Data Analysis Technique92

4621 Descriptive Statisticshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip93

4622 Frequency and Percentageshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip94

4623 Inferential Statisticshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip94

47 Research Propositions and Questionshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip95

48 Case Study as a Strategic Methodologyhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip95

481 Single and Multiple Case Studieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip97

482 Strengths and Weaknesses of Case Studieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip98

49 Research Instrumenthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip99

491 Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip99

4911 Questionnaire Intensityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip101

4912 Reliability of the Measuring Instrumenthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip101

4913 Content Validityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip102

4914 Piloting the Questionnairehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip103

492 Interviewhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip103

410 Sources for Data Collectionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip104

4101 Primary Sourceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip104

4102 Secondary Sourceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip104

411 Limitations of the Researchhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip105

412 Ethical Issues and Considerationshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip106


xi

Chapter Five

Analysis of Empirical Results51 Introduction

52 Biographical Data of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip108

53 Presentation of Data Generated from Employees at Shellhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip108

54 Perceptions of Employers in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeriahelliphelliphelliphellip113

55 Conclusionhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip218

Chapter Six

Discussion and Interpretation of the Results


62 Discussion and Interpretation of Resultshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip219

63 Labour Flexibility A New Form of Employment Contracthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip221

64 lsquoCasualisationrsquo and Employment Securityhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip223

65 Labour and Community Resistance The Fundamental Issueshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip224

66 Poverty Amidst Plenty A Resource Cursehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip225


Chapter Seven

Conclusion and Recommendations


72 Findingshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip228

73 Policy Recommendationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip232

xii

74 Contribution to Knowledgehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip234

75 Suggestions for Further Studieshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip235


Referenceshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip237

Appendix 1helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip264



List of Figures

Figure 1 GDP by Sector in 2006helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip11

Figure 2 Strategic Location of the Petroleum Ports in Nigeriahelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip12

Figure 3 Length of Servicehelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip113

Figure 4 Terms of Employmenthelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip120

Figure 5 Length of their Contracts123

Figure 6 The Education Cross-Tabulated with Duration of Contract127

Figure 7 Current Employment Conditions under which Employees Workhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip129

Figure 8 Working Conditions Prior to the Implementation of Reformshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip134

Figure 9 Types of Labour Market Reforms Implemented at Shellhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip140

Figure 10 Management Rationale for Reforms Implementationhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip146

Figure 11 Employee Level of Satisfaction152

Figure 12 Were these Reforms Consulted or Negotiated with Labour Formations159

xiii

Figure 13 How were the Reforms NegotiatedConsulted167

Figure 14 Impact of Labour Market Reforms on Terms and Conditions of Employmenthelliphelliphellip170

Figure 15 Impression of Workers on the use of SegmentedContract Workers in Shellhelliphelliphelliphellip177

Figure 16 The Effects of Reforms on Earnings of Employeeshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip184

Figure 17 Are you Able to Sustain yourself Post-Reform Era190

Figure 18 Role that Needs to be Played by Government in Reforming the Sectorhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip196

List of Tables

Table 1 Age of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip109

Table 2 Gender of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip109

Table 3 Marital Status of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip110

Table 4 Income Distribution of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip110

Table 5 Departments of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip111

Table 6 Educational Status of Respondentshelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip112

Table 7 Types of Skills Possessedhelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip112

Table 8 Correlation214

xiv

Acronyms and Abbreviations

BPD Barrel Per Day

COSATU Congress of South African Trade Unions

DPR Department of Petroleum Resource

GDP Gross Domestic Product

HCT Human Capital Theory

HRD Human Resources Development

ICEN International Federation of Chemical Energy Mines and General Workers

ILO International Labour Organisation

IOLS Industrial Organisation amp Labour Studies

JIT Just in Time

MNC Multinational Company

MNOC Multinational Oil Companies

MOSOP Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People

NAPPIMS National Petroleum Investment Management Services

NCDMB National Content Development Monitoring Board

NDDB Niger Delta Development Board

NDDC Niger Delta Development Commission

NLC Nigeria Labour Congress

NNPC Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

NUPENG National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers

OMPADEC Oil Mineral Producing Area Development Commission

PENGASSAN Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria

SMT Senior Management Team

SPDC Shell Petroleum Development Company

TQM Total Quality Management

TUC Trade Union Congress

2

Chapter One

The New World Order


11 Introduction

Many researchers and scholars have agreed that the configuration of space and other developments

linked with globalisation have had eminent repercussion for labour in many parts of the world The

recent decade has seen major changes in the world of work and the way in which the world is

organised The trend is for the core once-upon-a-time beneficiaries of lifetime employment to shrink

in numbers while insecure part-time temporary and contract employment are continuously growing

From being a new way of working that promised a more humane workplace it has been revealed as a

system of brutal work intensification and a means of bypassing and undermining unionism There has

been a global lsquodownsizingrsquo and outsourcing associated with a splintering of production and

distribution processes and a trend for medium- and large-scale firms to contract out their

employment functionsrsquo (Standing 1999 84)

This period of great flexibility has been defined by many as a neo or post-fordism period or a period

that is against the fundamental principles of mass production and rather focuses on flexible means of

production (see Hardt amp Negri 2000 McGrew et al 1992 Allen et al 1995 Koffman amp Youngs

2000 and Harvey 1989) This process which has been characterised by technological change

automation the search for new product lines and market niches geographical dispersal to zones of

labour control mergers acquisitions and take-overs and steps to accelerate the turn over time of

their capital surged to the fore of corporate strategies for survival under the new era (see Standing

2014 Harvey 1989)

It rests on flexibility with respect to labour process labour market products and patterns of

consumption and it is characterised by the emergence of entirely new sectors of production new

ways of providing financial services and above all greatly intensified rates of commercial

technological and organisational innovation

3

With the emerging of economic globalisation in the 1980s corporations have found themselves with

a lot of unusable excess capacity such as idle plants and equipment under conditions of intensified

competition In this situation Standing (2011) suggests forced managers of industries into a period

of rationalisation restructuring and intensification of labour control thereby creating a new

dangerous class of workers he referred to as lsquothe precariatrsquo which emerged from the liberalisation

that underpinned globalisation and has been accelerated by the financial shock with more temporary

and agency labour outsourcing and abandonment of non-wage benefits by firms

The word precariat according to Standing (2014) was originally used in the 1980s in France to

denote temporary and seasonal workers but now with labour insecurity which has become the

feature of most Western economies it has become a perfect word for a great mass of people

including the army of unemployed and a detached group of socially ill misfits who have been

deprived of the benefits won by the organised labour

This new dangerous class according to Standing (2014) has continued to increase in size and range

spanning no end of occupational categories They consist of a multitude of insecure people living

lsquobits and pieces livesrsquo in and out of short-term jobs without a narrative of occupational development

including millions of frustrated educated youth who do not like what they see before them as well as

millions of women abused in oppressive labour Ideas such as dignity of labour and the notion

shared by both old left and his reforming successors that lsquoto toil is the expression of human dignity is

alien and strange to the precariat As Standing puts it ldquoThe precariat can accept jobs and labour as

instrumentalhellip not as what defines or gives meaning to liferdquo (Standing 2014 112)

In Standingrsquos view this new dangerous class increasingly resembles denizens rather than citizens

ldquoPeople with restricted rights largely living towards the bottom of a lsquotiered membershiprsquo of a

society in which a plutocratic elites takes the single biggest share while other classes ndash the salariat

free-ranging lsquoproficiansrsquo and what remains of the old working class ndash divide up most of what

remainsrdquo (Standing 2014 166) Standing points out that while proletarian consciousness is likened

to long-term security in a firm mine factory or office the precariatrsquos consciousness is linked to a

search for security outside the workplace

4

In this investigation it is hypothesised that there is a negative relationship between labour market

reforms and employment security in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria Secondly

the growing insecurity in employment and wages in Nigerian Shell-dominated communities in the

Niger Delta is linked to the ongoing restructuring in the sector

The implementation of labour market reforms in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria

began in 1998 The rationale behind these reforms was to deregulate the sector and make it more

flexible to the laws of supply and demand At the core of reforms implemented from 1998 were

outsourcing part-time jobs temporary employment lsquocasualisationrsquo flexi-time work and contractual

staffing According to Dekare et al (2011) the implementation of these labour market reforms has led

to the decline in permanent employment in the oil sector The introduction of flexibility trends in

Nigeria has further compounded the unemployment situation to an extent that the oil sector has

accounted for more job-shedding than any other sector in Nigeria (see Fajana 20055)

A cursory analysis of employment statistics depicts that soon after the implementation of the

reforms permanent employment figures at Shell declined drastically by almost 50 (see Dekare et

al 2011) Employment statistics also reveal that the total number of employees holding permanent

tenure was reduced by more than half from 10 000 to 4 500 and about 20 000 workers have since

been retained in the peripheral segment of the company labour force as contract staff (Fajana 2005)

This paints a tepid picture of the growing insecurities faced by workers in Nigeria Unlike in South

Africa where the Labour Relations Act of 1995 as amended in 2002 makes clear guidelines of how

reforms should be implemented in the workplace in Nigeria there are no statutory obligations that

safeguard employees against the unilateral variations of their terms and conditions of employment by

the employer

As noted by Thompson (1989 1997) and Mordi amp Mmieh (2009) companies are looking beyond the

traditional boundaries of the firm to obtain performance improvement and in their pursuit to control

and maximise labour surplus organisations are devising a variety of work control strategies aimed at

sustaining production efficiency greater diversity and a competitive workforce One way these

companies can implement these strategies is through flexibility trends such as numerical flexibility

(see Cebekhulu 200446 Valverde et al 2000651 Conley 2006 Voudouris 2007) This view is in

5

line with the concept of lsquodual labour market modelrsquo which is located within the remit of the labour

market segmentation thesis (Sakamoto and Chen 1991 Dickens and Lang 1985 1988) In this

model lsquosecondary jobs are poorly paid open to market volatility have little job security and often of

poor condition of workrsquo (Sakamoto and Chen 1991 296) whereas primary jobs are better paid with

job security and better job conditions than their counterparts in secondary jobs

This new form of work arrangement is however of great financial advantage to the Shell

multinational oil company and this is evident by the continuous rise in their gross income From the

fiscal point of view Shell has continued to make profit in Nigeria year after year In 2008 Shell

posted $71 billion and in 2009 there was a profit improvement of $16 billion as the company

announced a profit of $87 billion at its Annual General Meeting for the year 2010 (Shell

Sustainability Annual Report 201015) At the average selling prices of $7963 per barrel the

revenue from oil and natural gas liquids put Shellrsquos daily earnings at an estimated $252 million or

$92 billion in 2010 Shell recently reported profits of $72 billion for June to October 2011 and

Mutiu Sunmonu the managing director of Shell Nigeria attributed this to the various forms of labour

market reforms embarked on by the company among other factors1

The reforms driven through flexibility trends in the form of lsquocasualisationrsquo temporary employment

fixed-term employment and outsourcing adopted by Shell are also evident across the globe (see

Rodgers amp Rodgers 1989 Standing 1986 Freeman 2005) This practice in South Africa is

enshrined in the 1998 Basic Conditions of Employment Act In Nigeria however there is only one

category of worker defined in the Nigerian Labour Act Cap 198 Law of the Federation of Nigeria

1990 and this definition does not recognise workers in the atypical work arrangements (see the

Labour Relations Act 66 as amended in 2002 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999)

The implication of this is that there is no legal protection for these categories of workers Section

7(1) of the Act provides that

ldquoNot later than three months after the beginning of a workerrsquos period of employment with the

employer the employer shall give to the worker a written statement specifying the terms and

1 Please see the Shell Sustainability Report of 2011 for a detailed statistical analysis of Shell profits since the

implementation of flexibility trends

6

conditions of employment which include the nature of employment and if the contract is for a fixed

term the date when the contract expiresrdquo

Overall the implementation of flexibility trends in the oil sector has subjected workers to demeaning

less favourable employment conditions and a decline in real wages

12 Background

Labour market policy reforms are important determinants of income distribution and poverty

incidence even in countries where the relative importance of the covered sector in the overall labour

market is small This is because of the indirect effect of the policies and the reforms on the rest of the

economy When the focus is on improving overall social welfare and reducing poverty labour

market interventions and reforms might act as a double-edged sword by protecting the income levels

and security of those covered by the policies Workers covered by policies are classified as the

lsquoinsidersrsquo and the vulnerable workers fall in the category of the lsquooutsidersrsquo The outsiders face

increasing barriers to employment and have access only to jobs in the uncovered sector of a typically

dual labour market

For this reason any reform of the prevailing labour market is unlikely to be Pareto neutral It will

leave some members of society worse off while improving the living standards of others and will

therefore have an important distributional impact As to who are the winners and the losers it will

depend on a number of factors ranging from the type and direction of the reforms ndash that is more

intervention versus increased liberalisation ndash to the characteristics of the labour and output markets

In deciding the implementation of these policies and reforms it is advised that policy makers should

be fully aware of the potential direct and indirect impact on the distribution of income at both

individual and household levels so that the full significance of the policies and reforms in terms of

efficiency equality and poverty reduction can be adequately understood

Debates about market reforms are not new The evolution of labour markets has been marked by

periods when market forces dominated thinking and policy alternating with periods when there was

a spread of institutions to provide representation or regulate outcome (see Voudouris 2007 Conley

2006) According to Beatson (1995) flexibility is about the marketrsquos ability to adapt and respond to

changing conditions He further points out that labour markets can adjust through quantities

7

(employment or hours worked) or price (wages) and relevant indicators of each are covered at both

microeconomic and macroeconomic levels Despite the attention that these various forms of reforms

attract there is little empirical evidence on its positive contribution to the nature of work labour

processes and livelihood of the people affected by such reforms Decades ago Polanyi (1944) in his

seminal contribution analysed the development of the capitalist system in the latter part of the 19th

century and the early part of 20th century and drew particular attention to the tensions that arise when

economic relationships are divorced from their social context

It is certainly true that much labour market regulation reflects efforts by government and other actors

to address the consequential need for coherence between economic and social goals and

relationships According to Standing (199930) lsquolabour market is an institutional framework by

which jobs are allocated exploitation is achieved or combated and control and resistance take

shapersquo He further emphasised that in the globalised economy flexibility is a precondition for

employment creation His view was supported by Rogersrsquo (2007) argument that highly regulated

labour markets is easier to maintain in relatively closed economies where competitive pressures

were less Rodgers further outlined that globalisation has sharply increased the range and intensity of

competition and more adaptable production systems and labour markets are essential if firms are to

survive in the new global economy

In the age of rapid neoliberal globalisation the discourse dominating the labour market revolves

around more or less regulation (more flexibility or less flexibility) Scholars such as Media (2008)

argue for more regulated labour markets on the ground that they induce human capital accumulation

by increasing the proportion of skilled workers thus leading to increased productivity and growth

She further contends that any decrease in the minimum wage should probably be matched by

appropriate educational and industrial or employment subsidies in order to compensate the possible

welfare losses arising from lowering this measure

Atkinson (1985) maintains that the flexible firm is a pragmatic and opportunistic model aimed at

creating a two-tier in-firm labour market of a core group of workers who undertake the organisation

of key firm-specific activities supported by a lsquocluster of peripheral workers who are meant to

conduct indeterminate and secondary activities within the firm It is in this context that Vallas (1999)

8

among other labour market segmentation theorists argued that this calibre of workers should be

accepted as core workers of the company if they have worked for the company for a longer period

Arulampalam amp Booth (1998) deeply investigated the relationship between fixed-term contract and

training part-time vs full-time work and the complementariness between education and training

According to the human capital predictions they found in five European countries a significantly

lower probability for men with temporary contracts to receive training On the contrary they did not

observe any significant differences in training between part-time and full-time workers In essence

workers who are part of the atypical labour force are deprived of opportunities for upward mobility

as employers are not willing to invest resources in them This in turn limits the employeesrsquo

opportunities of ever attaining permanent tenure and lsquodecent workrsquo

The evolution of flexibility trends in Nigeria is best captured by Aloziersquos (2009) opinion that

flexibility became a feature of the Nigerian labour market in the late 1980s when the country adopted

the Structural Adjustment Programme in line with the neoliberal policies of the International

Monetary Fund and the World Bank Anugwom (2007) opined that Nigeriarsquos contact with the post-

adjustment economic measure has resulted in the implementation of some externally sponsored

macroeconomic policies namely trade liberalisation floating exchange rate privatisation and

commercialisation government withdrawal from social provisioning retrenchment and

rationalisation in the civil service According to Okafor (2007) all these alien practices made some

work organisations resort to unethical business practices and violation of some fundamental labour

laws

A study conducted by Fajana (1987) revealed that in Nigeria like any economy livelihoods of

people are significantly affected by the opportunities available to participate in the labour market

Olowosile (2004) noted with concern that continuous reforms have significantly contributed to job

losses and insecurity and continue to jeopardise the livelihoods and well being of workers and their

families As work undergoes restructuring there are fewer opportunities for Nigerians to improve

working and living conditions of local communities In essence these communities have seen little

benefits from the profitable sector The opportunities for regular decent jobs in the oil sector that

once kept the hopes of host communities alive are getting depleted by lsquocasualisationrsquo and

9

outsourcing The outcome is that the jobs are cheaper for employers but more precarious for

workers

Studies by Bodice (2006) Cheadle (2006) and Danesi (2011) have shown that poor households

depend on labour income and the size of labour income depends on age-structure sex prospect of

employment or self-employment and wage rate or daily reward on own account An interesting

feature of the Nigerian labour market is the high incidence of casual and contract jobs by formal

firms (Odigie 2007) and the trade unions who have tried to organise these set of workers have been

met with stiff resistance from employers backed tacitly by the state2

The proponents of labour market regulation argue that intervention in labour market plays important

and positive roles and rejects the standard neoclassical analysis as being fundamentally flawed

According to Jha amp Golder (2008) Kilicaslan amp Taymaz (2008) and Michie amp Sheehan-Quinn

(2001) neoliberal market restructuring has accounted for the sharp increase in atypical forms of

employment as it seeks to deregulate the markets including labour markets to increase labour

flexibility In the general opinion of the regulation theorists labour markets without proper

regulations tend to do a poor job of protecting unemployed and peripheral workers According to

Kalleberg (2003) and Conley (2006) these practices are classical representations of current debates

on shifting employment trends in the workplace and added evidence that large firms have

strategically accelerated moves towards internal segmentation of their labour market

It is evident that the departure from the lsquointegrated firmrsquo towards the outsourcing of non-core

activities and workers was largely achieved through the flexible firm model advocated by Atkinson

(1985) A quick snapshot at the Atkinsonrsquos model shows that it embraces the three forms of

flexibility (numerical functional and wage)3 The most common flexible approach adopted in the

2 See Nigerian Labour Congress News Publication November edition 2005 wwwnlcng

3 Similarly Bodibe (2006) Rogers (2007) and Arvanitis et al (2002) identified three kinds of flexibility employment

flexibility (the freedom to determine employment level quickly and cheaply) wage flexibility (the freedom to alter wage

level without restrain) and functional flexibility (the freedom to alter work processes terms and conditions of

employment cheaply)

10

Nigerian oil sector is numerical flexibility The notion of numerical flexibility hinges on the ability of

the manager to bring workers in just in time to furnish services the employer wants them to fulfil and

lay them off when they are not needed (see Conley 2006 and Valverde et al 2000) Unlike in

Nigeria numerical flexibility in South Africa is further complicated by the presence of labour

brokers These labour brokers serve the function of an employment conveyer belt between the

employer and employees This is the main reason that the Congress of South African Trade Unions

(COSATU) in South Africa is calling for amendment of the Labour Relations Act in order to do

away with labour broking

Taking the discourse further Theron (2005) noted that the ILO has used terms like lsquodisguised

employmentrsquo or lsquotriangular employment relationshiprsquo to define the emergence of labour flexibility

and all manner of non-formalised work Looking at flexible jobs from the legal perspective DiPrete

et al (2003) did a comparison of flexibility trends in the USA and France and concluded that flexible

jobs have a manifestly different meaning in the United States to that held in France In contrast to the

French situation American employers have no legal requirement to define the duration of a job or

even to sign an employment contract with a person they hire Their findings are further corroborated

by the findings of Polivka (1996) Muhl (2001) and Sweeney (2006) which highlighted that in the

American context there is no legal definition of a contingent job For them the concept is

behaviourally constructed in more or less restrictive ways based on whether the worker is employed

by a temporary agency or on a limited contract has limited tenure and has expectations that the job

will last only for a fixed duration

According to Solidarity Centre (2010) casual workers make as little as 30 to 50 percent of the union

wages but have no job security and receive few if any benefits The sad reality of the matter is that

the oil companies embarked on such a large-scale job deregulation without necessarily consulting or

negotiating with the labour formations (Olowosile 2004) The little literature written on the impact

of labour market flexibilities in the Nigerian oil sector bears testimony to the negation of the

flexibility discourse in Nigeria Even the existing literature on labour market flexibilities in Nigeria

was mostly undertaken during the era of repressive military regimes that at most times silenced

11

progressive union voices The rationale for choosing the Shell Petroleum Development Company

was informed by the reality that Nigeria is heavily reliant on oil and gas4

Figure 1 GDP by Sector in 2006 (Percentage) Source Adapted from Economic Outlook

(2008)

From ten of the major oil companies that operate in Nigeria Shell Petroleum Development Company

(SPDC) is the largest employer and has a high annual turnover Shell has been operational for over

60 years in Nigeria and controls about 60 percent of Nigerian oil production with 16 percent of the

total workforce in the sector (see Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Report of 2010

People and Environment Annual Report of 2010 Federal Office of Statistics Report of 2009) Shell

is also the operator of a Joint Venture Agreement with the government-owned Nigeria National

Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) that holds 55 shares and Shell holds 30 of the shares Shell also

holds 26 interest in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas that exports liquefied natural gas around the

world

4 See Figure 1 on GDP contribution by sectors in 2006

12

Figure 2 Strategic Location of the Petroleum Ports in Nigeria Source African Economic

Outlook (2008)

Therefore understanding the impact of labour market reforms on the work process is vital to the

success of Shell as a company job security and the livelihoods of the workers The study is

significant because it seeks to address theoretical and methodological issues regarding the

conceptualisation of labour flexibility and job security and its antecedents and consequences as well

as highlight areas in which future research is required

It is centrally concerned with several questions relating to this significant labour market restructuring

event It will be of great interest to the multinational oil companies that are seeking to embark on

labour flexibility and other forms of labour segmentation without losing workersrsquo commitment (see

Sverke Hellgren amp Naumlswall 2002 and Naumlswall amp De Witte 2003) Additionally with that

knowledge it might be possible to lsquoadjustrsquo the factors in order to bring individual and union attitudes

in alignment with organisational goals and desires

13 Hypothesis

Thus the hypothesis advanced in this study is that

13

There is a negative relationship between labour market reforms and employment security

linked to the ongoing restructuring in the sector This relationship is expressed in the growing

insecurities in employment and wages in Shell Nigeria

14 Objectives of the Study

The research examines the changing nature of the labour market and job insecurity in Shell

Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria The labour market is a very important source that

offers explanations for earnings and inequalityinsecurity The structure of the labour market has a

significant consequence on employment status and it serves as an important determinant of

household income welfare and livelihoods Like most labour markets in developing countries the

Nigerian labour market represents one of the major sources of risk through which people fall into

poverty thus it is important to identify some of the factors that affect earnings and entry into the

labour market

141 The overall objectives of this study are to

Assess the impact of labour market reforms implementation on the workers of Shell Petroleum

Development Company in Nigeria

Ascertain what other types of labour market reforms have been implemented in the oil-producing

sector in Nigeria

Understand the reasons that led the private sectors in this case Shell Petroleum Development

Company implementing labour market reforms in Nigeria

To investigate the impact of these labour market reforms on the size of the workforce working

conditions and job security

To ascertain if these reforms were negotiated with labour formations before implementation and

To determine how this new form of work order has impacted individual and household income

and livelihoods

142 The key questions that informed the research are

What types of labour market reforms were implemented by the management of Shell

Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria

14

How have the labour market reforms affected job security and benefits of workers in Shell

Petroleum Development Company

What are the implications of such reforms on an individual workerrsquos income in Shell


What are the implications of such reforms on the livelihood of the workers

How have these labour market reforms ignited worker-organised unions

Is there community resistance in Nigeria

15 Research Methodology and Methods

To achieve the research objectives this study engages in both quantitative and qualitative research

methods and answering the questions allowed the researcher to achieve the central aim of the

project which is to understand the impact of the labour flexibility trends on job security in Shell

Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria The selection of the research method is crucial for

what conclusions one can make about a phenomenon It affects what you can say about the cause and

factors influencing a phenomenon At first the researcher intended to utilise a probability sampling

technique by filtering questions to eliminate non-group members The idea behind the rationale was

to enable the researcher to self-administer questionnaires to a group as large as 5000 (employees

employers and government officials) If this method had been utilised it would have enabled the

researcher to minimise the generally very poor level of returns and in the end the researcher would

have been able to generalise the results However due to the financial limitations associated with a

large sample of respondents a non-probability sampling technique known as purposive sampling was

used in this project This is because the project aims to investigate a particular group of people who

have been affected by the labour market reforms A project of this nature requires a wide range of

opinions on the subject matter and this was achieved through the administration of questionnaires As

such self-administered questionnaires were used to gather all relevant information on the subject

matter

Based on the research questions stated above the researcher designed the questionnaires

administered for this study In order to make the results of the research valid and for the purpose of

reliability 304 respondents were selected from a population of 20 000 workers of Shell Petroleum

Development Companyrsquos in five locations across Nigeria this represents the required ratio of

15

drawing samples from population (see Sekeran 1992) The respondents were drawn from different

departments of Shell Petroleum Development Company All the levels of organisational hierarchy

including junior middle and senior employees are represented in the sample Questionnaires were

administered to ten management staff members at Shell Petroleum Development Company An

additional ten government officials from the Ministry of Labour including the Director General and

other senior officials were included as part of the sample All these respondents were included in

order to have a cross-section of all types of opinions

The findings generated were supported by secondary and primary documentary data This data

included Shellrsquos policy such as original letters of employment from workers on open-ended

contracts and casualcontract workers annual reports and union agreements and communiqueacutes The

use of these types of documentary evidence was aimed at maximising a situation whereby the

researcher relies on single data source

From the onset the limitation envisaged in this research was a situation where management of Shell

would not grant access and co-operate with the researcher This was resolved by using the trade

union organisation as a mouthpiece towards gaining access to the workplace Throughout the

research the researcher also ensured that the respondentrsquos identities remained anonymous

16 The Scope and Outline of the Chapters

Each of the chapters in this research work addresses one or more of the key questions and the

arrangement of the chapters is closely related and based on this set of questions Chapter Two is the

analysis of existing relevant literature and evaluation of academic debates The researcher engaged

interrogated and drew from a wide range of both local and international literature on the topic under

investigation to support its claims This chapter theoretically contributes to an understanding of

labour market reforms and its impact on employment security Chapter Three lays down the key

conceptual issues and theoretical framework underpinning the study and forms the backbone of this

research It provides a theoretical and conceptual context for understanding the global trends in

labour market

16

Chapter Four focuses on the research methods of data collection and the reasons the method used is

preferred to the others for the purpose of this research It provides insight into the choice of research

design methods and methodology employed in this investigation It makes an argument for the use

of case study method as the most appropriate research design strategy to conduct this investigation

Chapter Five provides the analysis and the presentation of data generated through questionnaires as

well as the social and biological data of respondents

Chapter Six is the discussion and interpretation of results and the researcher evaluated the labour

and community resistance as a fundamental issue in the oil-producing areas of Nigeria and concluded

that the workers and communities where the oil companies are located live in abject poverty despite

the enormous wealth derived from the extraction of oil and gas in the country Lastly Chapter Seven

presents the conclusion and policy recommendations emanating from the arguments It also outlines

contributions of this thesis to scholarship in the field of management sciences particularly human

resources and labour relations Finally suggestions for further studies were made given the fact that

the researcher has only limited his investigation to Shell Petroleum Development Company in

Nigeria

17

Chapter Two

Analysis of Existing Literature and Evaluation of Academic Debates

21 Introduction

Various scholars in the field of industrial and labour relations sociology of labour market and labour

economics have different conceptualisations of the labour market Labour market issues include

employment unemployment participation rates and wages In recent times and as a result of

globalisation demographic changes have resulted in an increasingly ageing workforce Firstly

labour markets provide the structure through which workers and employers interact in relation to

jobs working conditions and pay The analysis of existing literature and evaluation of academic

debates interrogated in this chapter also seeks to highlight that institutions and processes of collective

bargaining including the roles played by employersrsquo organisations and trade unions influence the

labour market outcomes Furthermore the researcher highlighted the distinctions between the

primary and the secondary labour market which emanated from the dual labour market theory and

segmented labour markets The researcher also discussed the notion of insiders and outsiders The

researcher critically examined literatures on the rise of precariousness and atypical employment as

well as flexible labour trends and outsourcing and their impacts on reorganisation of work

22 Conceptual Understanding of Labour Market Reforms

The concepts of labour market are frequent in economic labour relations and general management

literature There is debate as to what labour market flexibility consists of and a number of

contributions highlight that it is a multi-dimensional concept that operates at individual

organisational and societal level of analysis and it focuses on responses to changing economic

conditions and appears to be culturally reflexive (McGuire et al 2002)

Labour market information covers the principal elements of the labour market and its operations The

principal elements are the demand for labour and the supply of labour Demand means the number of

jobs available Supply tells you the number of people who are able work Time periods sector

industries and geographic areas organise this information The labour force is the number of people

available to work These numbers are broken down by age gender ethnic background education

18

level and skills Unemployment happens when there are more people (who want to work) than jobs

that are available

Labour exchange searching for workers offering people jobs and hiring activities are government

policies and activities created towards reducing the number of jobless people The development of the

labour market in recent times is viewed as a simultaneous process of assimilation and social

exclusion and many countries faced with the challenge of low employment have increasingly turned

towards labour market reforms Thus Weller (2001) argues that labour market reforms are seen as

means of job creation and growth

A study by Akindele (2008) monitored developments in pay working time and quality of work and

employment in the European Union His report on labour market policies and new forms of work

organisation and employment labour flexibility and trends in job creation and labour market mobility

is of magnitude value He observed that labour market reforms are significant both for

competitiveness and as mechanisms to encourage greater levels of foreign direct investment The

search for competitiveness is a critical issue facing national governments particularly in the

developing and emerging market economy Traditional approaches to determining labour market

policy have been confronted with the challenge of balancing economic efficiency with an adequate

level of social protection Underscoring the need for greater labour market reforms is the drive of

organisations to maximise the effectiveness of human capital

23 General Concept of labour market flexibility

This idea of labour market flexibility derives from neoclassical theory which suggests that in a

labour market with no regulation the price mechanism stabilises the market and allocates resources

Pareto efficiency This theory suggests that if market failures exist such a market without regulations

can be less efficient in resources allocation than an adequately regulated market

Labour reallocation happens faster in flexible labour markets than in rigid labour markets The

concept of flexibility is often understood as lsquoless regulation means a more flexible labour marketrsquo

When companies are faced with the declining demand for products or poorly performing employees

employers generally regard flexible work arrangements as good The expiration of labour contracts of

19

fixed-term employees is a cheap way to get rid of personnel since it is excluded from all redundancy

procedures and severance pay that companies have to face when firing permanent workers Moreover

temporary employment agencies supply workers on short notice which makes it possible for

companies to adjust their workforce quickly However on the supply side of the labour market the

advantages of flexible work are ambiguous On the one hand Author amp Houseman (2010) argue that

for the medium and long term the unemployed might be better off investing in further job searches to

find permanent jobs rather than accepting a temporary job Several empirical studies have found

evidence for short job spells bad pay and working conditions of flexible relative to permanent jobs

On the other hand some studies have discovered more positive results on long-term labour market

performance for those who accept a temporary job particularly with respect to wage compensation

and employment continuity (see Kvasnicka 2005 and Addison and Surfield 2007)

Faced with sky rocketing costs of health care and other employment-related benefits employers

have searched for and found a way to streamline their operating costs by creating a flexible or more

accurately a disposable and marginal workforce Labour flexibility allows companies to control

their direct labour costs by reducing the number of permanent workers and using non-permanent

workers who can be hired as the need arises According to Jarvis et al (1999) labour flexibility is

often a way of avoiding unionised workers and increasing the power of employers over workers who

are not covered by collective agreements However positive outcomes arising from temporary

employment are that it can improve job matching within the labour market reduce job search time

and expenses and offer a transition to permanent employment (Shen 2006)

According to Burgess and Connell (2006) the rationale for utilising temporary as opposed to

permanent employee varied It involves both short-term and ad hoc strategies through to long-term

and carefully planned strategies The consequences of these forms of atypical or non-standard

employment can be considered from a number of perspectives ndash that of the workers the employing

organisation and the labour market

Todayrsquos transnational or multinational companies increasingly rely on armies of lsquoreserve labourrsquo

around the globe attracting migrant labour or offshoring work to staff its value chains for both

primary and secondary functions The old secure lsquocorersquo is now itself under pressure through

20

outsourcing bringing lsquocasualisationrsquo into the heart of the modern formal economy All this has had

massive effects on labour which now faces a far more diverse and fragmented working experience

across the globe bringing new challenges for workers and the organisation as well as the power of

labour movements

The issue of flexibility of the employment relationship has received considerable attention in

academic circles in the last two decades partly due to the influential work of Atkinson (1984 1987)

on the flexible firm This attention is also evident among practitioners as organisations continue to

experiment with various atypical employment contracts and arrangements Thus it can be argued

that the interest in employment flexibility is an integral part of the diffusion of human resources

management as flexibility is always one of its cardinal objectives (Adeleye 2011) The forms and

types of temporary employment vary across countries and industries according to employment

regulations and labour use needs and strategies in these forms of employment the workers remain

detached from the ongoing relationship with the organisation for which they work This detachment

can extend to factors associated with lack of any access to training career development employment

benefits and organisational identification (Burgess and Connell 2006)

Multinational organisations are fast adopting labour market flexibility as a key requirement to

consolidate approaches to managing human capital in a global world Storey et al (2002) opined that

the rapidly changing market condition facing the multinational organisations have made them

constantly seek new ways in which they can increase the level of flexibility within their rank There

is uncontroverted evidence of a radical transformation in employment relations with a shift from

contractual agreements to an increased incidence of outsourcing among multinational organisations

McGuire et al (2002) argue that the desire for increased internal flexibility necessitates both the legal

authorisation to engage in such practices and openness by national governments to reducing labour

market rigidities in order to encourage a greater level of foreign direct investment and securing

national competitive advantage In a similar vein Cooke (2001) argues in the context of foreign

direct investment He posits that multinationals give substantial weight to national differences in

deciding upon levels of investment arguing that there exists a negative correlation between levels of

foreign direct investment and the perceived costs and constrains of government regulations and

collective bargaining on multinational flexibility

21

Flexibility is concerned with the marketrsquos ability to adapt and respond to changing conditions The

labour market can adjust through quantities (employment or hours of work) or price (wages) and

relevant indications of each are covered at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic level

Atkinson (1985) made a clear distinction of labour market flexibility trends which are numerical

functional and wage This can be classified as follows

Numerical Flexibility

This type of flexibility is located at the microeconomic level and closely related to the strategies of

enterprises It is a process through which firms react to changes in the demand for their products and

services by adjusting the amount of labour employed (Arvanitas et al 2002) This is achievable

through overtime part-time work variable working hours fixed-term contracts or lay-offs He made

further distinction among the many forms of numerical variation of labour which he identified as

temporary and part-time work which are in most cases permanent work This distinction became

necessary because the reasons and motivation of the employer for using the two types of labour

might differ

Jobs in the numerical flexibility context are temporary and some of the reasons for its temporary

nature are that they are temporarily replacing a worker their job is seasonal they are working only

on specific project or they are working on a fixed-term contract Cappeli amp Nuemark (2004) made

further distinction between external and internal numerical flexibility According to them external

numerical flexibility refers to the adjustment of the labour intake or the number of workers from the

external market This can be achievable by employing workers on temporary work or fixed-term

contracts or through relaxed hiring and firing regulations On the other hand internal numerical

flexibility is achievable by adjusting working hours or schedules of workers who are already engaged

by the firm

Functional Flexibility

Functional flexibility implies a process through which organisations adjust to changes in the demand

for their productsservices by an internal re-organisation of workplaces based on multi-skilling

multitasking team working and the involvement of workers in job design innovation technology

22

and the organisation of work Arvanitas et al (2002) argued that this type of flexibility is generated

through the combined use of information technologies and new forms of workplace organisation

With respect to functional flexibility high average educational level job-related training and

intensive use of information technologies are some requirements

Wage Flexibility

Wage flexibility refers to the ability of changes in real wages to eliminate imbalances between the

supply of and demand for labour It is the freedom to alter wage level without restraint This is

reflected in the expansion of performance-related pay Freeman (2009) examined the view that wage

flexibility in the United States is the panacea to European unemployment problems For example the

wage flexibility in the US in the 1980s to 1990s was associated with rising inequality and falling real

wages for many workers It reduced rather than increased employment for the low-paid and less-

skilled whose wages fell and arguably contributed to the growth of a significant criminal population

24 Evolution of Labour Market Reforms and Labour Flexibility

Debates on labour market reforms have become an issue in recent times In its assessment of the

global labour situation the ILO (2012) claimed that one in three workers in the labour force is

currently unemployed or poor this implies that out of 33 billion 200 million are unemployed and a

further 900 million are living with their families below the US$2 a day poverty line It argued that if

the current economic and labour market trend persists there is a risk that the deficit will escalate

further To arrest this development labour flexibility tends to be the alternative available

The word lsquoflexibilityrsquo has positive connotations ndash relaxed informal and easygoing Applied to the

world of labour though the reverse is true Flexibility describes a situation of increasingly insecure

pressure-driven employment at the whim of employers whose demands might change forcing

millions of workers to realign their lives routines and other commitments in their struggles to get by

Non-standard employment has become a globalised trend and multinationals and agencies have now

established their presence in more than sixty nations across the globe where they are placing

employees in temporary positions across a range of occupations from clerical cleaning and light

industrial work through to accountancy law and information technology (Peck et al 2005) The

23

terms of employment have been changing rapidly over the last fifteen years for a growing share of

workers The overall tendency is towards a lsquocasualisationrsquo of the employment relations that

incorporates not only the types of jobs traditionally marked as unskilled or lsquocasualrsquo jobs but also

high-level professional jobs that in many regards are not casual (Sassen 1997)

Flexible work arrangement is a cheap way to get rid of personnel since it is excluded from all

redundancy procedures and severance pay that companies have to face when firing permanent

workers The literature on temporary contracts has typically warned against the risk that liberalising

such contracts might lead to segmented labour markets while failing to reduce unemployment

However empirical evidence suggests that temporary workers enjoy a high rate of transition into

permanent employment and that temporary contracts decrease the unemployment rate Rigidities in

the labour market are widely believed to be at the heart of the surge and persistence global

unemployment and to date the major policy response to high unemployment rates has been the

liberalisation of temporary contracts

Huws (201012) points out that our received views on flexibility as an anachronism swept away by

industrialisation the growth of a formal economy and state regulation are incorrect Formed against

the backdrop of the regulated post-war economy of the West and its model of employment (with

permanent jobs collective bargaining on pay and conditions of work) Huws argued that we have

mistaken this temporary arrangement for a universal process and are now rudely confronted with a

dramatic reversal in new political and economic circumstances

The capitalist forces of modernity we once assumed would sweep it away are unleashing the

unprecedented trends of casual employment He further examines the boom in casual employment

over the last quarter of a century as globalisation corporate restructuring and the dynamics of

lsquofinancialisationrsquo have undermined established employment patterns and national accord between

capital labour and the state around the world

Ferner et al (2002) argue that the roots of this lie in the dual nature of its modern form both

industrial conglomerate financial group These giants are driven to expand value along both axes by

short-term market-led strategies in a world where deregulated financial markets new product

24

innovations and the offshore economy allow great scope for the asset management of their vast but

evanescent networks of portfolio companies Thus Edward amp Ferner (2002) argue that the much-

noted turbulent restructuring of global value chains changes in corporate ownership fragmentation

of production processes and switch to cheaper precarious workforces all flow from this central

tendency

Transnational corporations as mainspring of the new lsquocasualisedrsquo employment patterns were traced

by Serfati (2001) and Edwards amp Ferner (2002) They argue that the roots of this lie in the dual

nature of its modern form both industrial conglomerates and financial groups These giants are

driven to expand value along both axes by short-term market-led strategies in a world where

deregulated financial markets new product innovations and the offshore economy allow great scope

for the asset management of their vast but evanescent networks of portfolio companies Thus

Edward amp Ferner (2002) argue that the much-noted turbulent restructuring of global value chains

changes in corporate ownership fragmentation of production processes and switch to cheaper

precarious workforces all flow from this central tendency

Transnational corporations are able to develop their own integrated global spaces to co-ordinate

these productive and financial activities relying on extensive outsourcing offshoring and the

creation of intermediaries to house various forms of financial engineering intra-company trading

transfer pricing tax avoidance and trade in intangible services even foreign direct investment flows

The two strands are increasingly intermingled with as much focus on rent appropriation through the

exercise of financial and intellectual property rights as value-producing manufacturing In sum the

logic of lsquofinancialisationrsquo has clearly taken hold of transnational corporation activities with drastic

consequences for workers everywhere around the globe as the case studies that follow show

These studies drawn from all corners of the global economy illuminate some of the great variety in

the contemporary forms of casual informal and precarious employment At one extreme are the

Brazilian cosmetic resellers an 800 000-strong workforce for a company that provides no contracts

of employment has no shops or distribution outlets and prescribes no defined form or place of work

Abilio (2012) suggests that it is this very amorphous and dispersed quality that holds the key to their

effective exploitation Their direct selling can be inserted into a variety of social relations and

25

spheres (home work family neighbourhood friends) combined with other existing social roles

(paid work domestic labour) and is open to all ndash a feature that underpins its recent expansion

From the point of view of capital accumulation the resellers bear all the risks and costs of selling

their labour They must deal with the ordering delivery storage and control of the stock organise

presentations and sales manage the intense competition between themselves and provide marketing

and feedback functions for the company Most remarkable in all this is that the workforce undertakes

all these tasks willingly with no sign of any resistance to the extra exploitation it brings Alves

(2000) took a closer look at what this generalised lsquoprecariousnessrsquo means for workers caught up in it

he concluded that flexible employment practices covering working time pay and contracts are

creating lsquoa new structure of everyday life for the working class affecting their working time their

subjectivities and overall quality of life

Relationships between work and non-work times and spaces are now being redrawn to suit the needs

of capital accumulation the linking of pay and performance to targets generates pressure in work as

well as undermining collective wage negotiation whilst the lack of any permanent contracts leaves

workers uncertain and fearful and fragments their working experiences Looked at in its broadest

terms what we have here is not simply the dismantling of established labour relations but a

wholesale assault on workersrsquo lives their subjectivities and labour collectives

Within the modern corporation itself Figari (2001) cites evidence from Argentina to show how

labour force re-composition and precarious employment fits into overall corporate strategies of

modernisation Although lsquoTaylorismrsquo and continuous improvement systems lie at the heart of

corporate restructuring their actual implementation depends on a lower level set of mediations to

reorganise working practices labour forces and their cultures She finds a two-pronged approach of

standardisation and differentiation at work here where company managers are systematically

excluding experienced older workers through voluntary retirement schemes and outsourcing of

various functions These strategies are geared toward clearing the way for the introduction of new

forms of standardised managerial control over a younger workforce based on individual targets

remuneration and behavioural monitoring

26

Workers themselves are then divided between those retained as direct employees and those facing a

more precarious existence in outsourced firms This restructuring can create problems especially a

loss of technical expertise and knowledge know-how in the workplace However Figari noted that

there was no significant organised worker resistance and opposition to these practices even where

trade unions have an active presence in the company Labourers are undoubtedly worse off as a

result as they work more and are monitored intensively with less security of employment

Despite a series of persistent obstacles shortcomings and problems developing countries are driving

towards a stage where they could accommodate a good number of people from the domestic and

foreign market just like some advanced countries of the world like France and America Naturally in

the labour market one would always see a series of labour market behaviours such as demand for

labour supply for labour job search income and wages unemployment wage determination

inflation migration and collective bargaining

In the Nigerian scene there are peculiar problems that deter the Nigerian labour market from

functioning properly and these problems should be put into context One major problem is the

increasing rate of the labour force that is not matched with a corresponding increase in job

opportunities The total number of youths or graduates who are willing and ready to participate in the

labour market cannot find places to work The effect is that supply of labour increases while its

demands fall drastically and at the end of the day the problem compounds into low wage payments

lsquocasualisationrsquo and other forms of non-standard employment

One other problem is that of industrial conflict it often occurs via strikes and other destructive forms

of protest According to Asiki (2008) these are thought to negatively affect the pace of economic

development especially in LDCs It affects economic activities of the state thus determination of

wages is no longer triggered by the free interplay of the forces of demand and supply Theoretically

wages are supposed to be negotiated and not rewarded There is always an institutional arrangement

for wage determination which could either be by collective bargaining or labour courts

Unfortunately the institutional arrangements are completely violated and flawed by the state which

of course distorts the flow or functioning of the labour market A very good example of such

distortion is the unilateral award of wages to workers by the state a trend that according to Fajana

27

(2000) is capable of distorting the functioning of the labour market to the extent that many

disturbing factors accompany the process of such wage awards

Such is evident as inflation and more disputes are generated or aggravated as the press celebrates

such awards out of proportion The problem of inflation also poses serious challenges to the

functioning of the labour markets in Nigeria There is usually a sustained and persistent increase in

factor and commodity prices in the country with many negative effects on the labour market In most

times inflation is heightened by low production money laundering or structural defects which are

very peculiar to the Nigerian economy

The increase malfunctioning of imported ideas approaches or strategies is another big factor based

on observation most theories concepts policies and programmes imported from abroad do not work

back home in Nigeria because of the difference in culture and historical background Attempts to

emulate foreign ideas or policies would end up aggravating the problems already faced in the

Nigerian labour market rather than solving them

Growing lsquoinformalisationrsquo of the economy mismatch of skills geographical mismatch inadequate

dissemination of information political bias or interference and regional crisis are problems that need

urgent attention in Nigeria and the state should seek a way of curbing inflation and preventing

employees and employers from engaging in any form of distasteful industrial action

25 Trade Union Movement and Labour Reforms in Nigeria

The trade unionsrsquo movement in Nigeria emerged in opposition to the excesses observed in the

Nigerian politics from independence They articulated the aspirations of the broad masses of society

and mobilised public sentiments against the abuses of the ruling elite Labour mobilised the public

around nationalist causes and lambasted the widening gap between the affluence of politicians and

the poverty of the majority of Nigerians It raised questions concerning access to education health

and other welfare services It challenged authoritarian tendencies exemplified by the call to create a

national government

28

Also a crisis in the state is often said to manifest itself as a crisis in labour relations not so much

because of the existence of a relatively large mass of formal-sector labour as because of organised

labourrsquos relatively long political experience beginning in the nationalist struggle for independence

and its immense ability to articulate and mobilise popular forces to confront the ruling elite (Adesina

1994) According to Aiyede (2004 226) this implies that the lsquotrade union owes its prominence less

to its internal democratic structure or its technical capacity than to its ability to mobilise as a vehicle

to create space for democratic debate and contestation or even constrain the state especially when

the leadership is urged on by pressures from belowrsquo

Many scholars such as (Adewumi 2007 2012 Barchiesi 1996 and Aiyede 2004) agreed that

unions in Nigeria at their development stages were faced with a lot of challenges including internal

fragmentations and division caused by ideological differences disagreements over international

affiliation and strategy personality clashes and individual ambitions conflict over the use of union

funds disagreement over forms of collective political participation and opportunism In spite of

these challenges efforts have been to explain the achievements and contributions of the trade union

movement and to understand its relevance and potential in the political liberation movement of the

1980s and 1990s For example Aiyede (2004) noted that the effectiveness of labour has been

attributed to its nature as a social movement and to its capacity as a vehicle for social mobilisation

The governmentrsquos restructuring of the movement between 1975 and 1978 saw more than 1000 small

unions 42 industrial unions 15 senior staff associations and four professional associations

reorganised into a central labour body For the first time in Nigerian history only one central labour

organisation was permitted to exist Subsequently the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) became

prominent within the polity as a federated organisation and found a strong voice in the policy arena

However bureaucratic unity achieved through the instruments of the state foreclosed organic unity

Bureaucratisation and elaborate hierarchical structures also removed control of the unions from the

rank and file The control of political power by the military in the 1980s to late 1990s dwindled

labourrsquos pre-eminence and relevance remarkably as its organisational weaknesses reinforced by the

statersquos prolonged and sustained effort to lsquocurb the excessesrsquo of labour movement eventually threw it

into disarray This according to Aiyede (2004 226) ldquowas successfully carried out by the use of

29

instruments mechanisms and processes of labour control which were defined by corporatist

principles permeated by a statist ideology of lsquodevelopmentalismrsquo where the fostering of peripheral

capitalism was presented as lsquodevelopment rsquo and any obstacle put in the way of capitalist

accumulation was considered sectarian and illegitimaterdquo

Adesina (1995) identified three levels at which the state was able to exert its role in the accumulation

process in labour relations these are through the increased use of statutes and military decrees to

control and restrain trade union actions the use of courts and judicial processes to the same ends to

control and restrain union action and thirdly the use of the coercive machinery of the state against

the labour movement According to him the decrees increased the power of the state to intervene in

labour relations and the labour process The state was empowered to define trade unions and trade

unionism as well as determine who could participate in the leadership unions

Union activities in certain sectors were prohibited by the government this was done by defining

them as essential services not amenable to the disruptive activities of a unionised workforce The

state not only regulated the internal administration of trade unions but also freely proscribed them It

barred some union leaders from trade union activities and detained many of them without trial for

indefinite periods (Otobo 1988 Ohiorhenuan 1989 and Adesina 1994 1995)






The economic crisis of the 1980s forced a change in the existing relations between the state and the

NLC which was the only central labour organisation in the period as the NLC began to rely on

government patronage for funding This more than anything else is what weakened union

organisational unity and independence and thereby the influence and power of union leadership

30

Massive redundancies and retrenchments in both the public and the organised private sector rendered

union activism difficult risky and costly at both the shop-floor and the central level A further

restructuring of the trade unions in 1996 under General Sani Abacha redefined the role of union

membership in order to weaken the influence of full-time union employees who have always been

the bulwarks of trade unions

Thus in Nigeria through interventions in the leadership succession processes the NLC and other

strategic unions came increasingly under the control of the state especially in the period of economic

and labour reforms in the late 1980s By the 1990s the trade union movement had become too weak

to carry out an effective and coherent response to the challenges to its autonomy and effectiveness

By the time the democratisation struggle began to gather momentum in Nigeria the labour

movement had been badly battered and infiltrated by agents of the state enmeshed in ongoing

internal conflicts and converted into an instrument of capital accumulation and could no longer

fulfil its obligations to its members

26 The Implications of Labour Market Reforms and Flexibility for Trade Unions

There has been an ongoing discourse among scholars on the implications of globalisation and

flexibility for labour and in particular trade unions Production systems based on new technologies

that enable greater productivity and flexibility as well as workers with updated skills and more

independent initiatives are required if industries are to survive in this climate

The basic objective and aim of trade unions as a continuous association of workers is to improve the

welfare of its members through better working conditions and protect their rights in employment

relations Trade unions might also bring negative effects to the labour market by protecting the

insiders at the expense of the outsiders and at the same time they can improve the functioning of the

labour market by mediating information between employers and employees as vehicles for collective

expression of concerns and desires in the workforce According to the neoclassical theory if the

unions have the power to negotiate higher wages they will also increase unemployment

Labour unions are often incorporated into the concept of labour market because of their membership

and collective bargaining coverage At the same time membership or coverage does not indicate the

31

power of trade unions to influence wages Wage differential is often used as the measure of trade

union power for if unions have no power they cannot fight or compel the employers to give up

some of their surplus and bring about improved wages thus wage differential is a measure of union

power and also an indicator of the influence of union on wages In a situation where wage

negotiations and bargaining are centralised this approach might be wrong as unions influence the

overall level of wages

Many theorists such as Harvey (1989) Negrri amp Hardt (2000) and Lehulere (2000) argue that

globalisation and its attendant reforms in the labour market structures have in effect nourished the

overcoming or bypassing of union power Ackers et al (1996) opined that one of the factors that have

always shaped the strength of trade unions is employment security among full-time workers rather

than part-time workers Similarly Buhlungu (1999) asserts that the labour market restructuring and

the introduction of flexible forms of work such as subcontracting in the quest for becoming globally

competitive threaten the very existence of trade unions Thus many theorists argue that there has

been extensive lsquodeunionisationrsquo in most parts of the world and where this has not been the case the

strength and the effectiveness of union activity has often been reduced (see Ackers 1996 Buhlungu

1998 Standing 1999 Newman 2000)

The decline in union density and strength has been attributed to changing patterns of employment

By far the greatest use of flexibility has been employersrsquo attempts to change the permanent

workforce through measures such as multi-skilling and more flexible work patterns Ackers (1996)

and Standing (1999) attributed weakening of unions to labour market insecurity as technology

allows for employment of fewer workers thus a fewer number of workers remain for unionisation

Ackers (1996) contends further that flexibility lsquocasualisationrsquo and the lsquoinformalisationrsquo of work has

made an increasing proportion of work less lsquounionisablersquo Temporary casual and part-time workers

are much more difficult to organise compared to full-time employees and reasons include the

organisational difficulties of reaching and retaining such workers the tendency for them not to

identify with unions and the difficulty of integrating flexible workers into union structures The

essence of this for unions is that the growth of their membership is affected by the fact that this

category of workers is not easy to organise and most of them do not have the propensity to join a

union

32

27 The great lsquoRegulationrsquo and lsquoDeregulationrsquo Debate in the Labour Markets

The proponents of labour market regulations argue that interventions in labour market play important

and positive roles and reject the standard neoclassical analysis as being fundamentally flawed

According to Jah amp Golder (2008) Kilicaslan amp Taymaz (2008) and Michie amp Sheehan-Quinn


employment as it seeks to deregulate the markets including the labour market to increase labour

flexibility In the general opinion of the regulation theorists a labour market without proper

regulations tends to do a poor job of protecting unemployed and peripheral workers According to

Kalleberg (2003) and Pfeffer amp Cohen (1984) these practices are classical representations of current

debates on shifting employment trends in the workplace and added evidence that large firms have


Deregulation is fundamentally about reducing and redistribution of resources demands and lead

economic players to adjust in turn to this new distribution Thus even if deregulation eventually

proves beneficial it will come with both strong distribution and dynamic effects The transition

might imply unemployment will increase for a while Real wages might decrease before recovering

and so on Labour market regulations have been often blamed for the poor performance in the

European Union in the last 30 years As Blanchard amp Giavazzi (2003) argue if all the rigidities and

regulations were removed Europe would soar the alarming level of unemployment would decrease

and output would increase It is further argued by the lsquoinstitutionalistrsquo that labour regulations might

fulfil important redistributive roles in a market economy particularly from the point of view of

vulnerable categories of workers and this might provide necessary insurance from adverse market

outcomes (Jah amp Golder 2008)

The lsquodistortionistrsquo on the other hand considers labour market regulations as major obstacles to

growth and employment Some of the reasons advanced by this school of thought is mainly that

regulations in the labour market prevent wages to equal their marginal product in equilibrium and the

misallocation of resources are inevitable outcomes Furthermore Jah amp Golder (2008) argue that

regulations might create major obstacles to the adjustment of labour markets to different types of

economic changes in a dynamic setting Their conclusion is that labour regulations that redistribute

33

economic lsquorentsrsquo from capital to labour such as collective bargaining schemes and expansionary

fiscal programmes to fund public employment might reduce profitability of the investors

28 Labour Market Reforms and Employment (In)security

Over the past two decades huge changes have taken place in the structure of the labour market

around the world and four major factors have been said to contribute to this These are

deindustrialisation technological innovation globalisation and commitment to a free market

economy including the privatisation of public services (Ferrie 2001)

The economic recessions industrial restructuring technological change and intensified global

competition of the late 1970s have dramatically changed the nature of work (Sverke amp Hellgren

2002) Most organisations have been involved in restructuring layoffs and lsquorightsizingrsquo in their

attempts to reduce labour costs and improve competitiveness From the organisational perspective

this has provided many companies with the functional and numerical flexibility necessary to adapt to

a changing environment

From the individual perspective although some individuals might view flexibility positively the

negative consequences are apparent Many workers have been displaced and so many others have

become involuntarily part-time unemployed or hired on temporary employment contracts As noted

by Sverke amp Hellgren (2002) some workers have experienced fundamental and involuntary changes

in their sets of beliefs about the employing organisation and the future of their jobs These changes

concern issues such as rapidly changing consumer markets and escalated demands for flexibility

within and between organisations Furthermore Sverke et al (2006) noted that consequently

organisations are forced to engage in various adaptive strategies in order to tackle new demands and

remain vigorous in this unpredictable environment

The traditional model of permanent employment and the possibility of long-life employment are

steadily giving way to less stable and vulnerable forms of employment such as casual labour

(Cheadle 2006) Bhorat amp Hinks (2006) articulated the difficulty of defining the concept by pointing

out that defining lsquocasualisationrsquo in a labour market is problematic They further outline that as issues

of hours of work type of contract of employment method and who pays the employees non-

34

pecuniary benefits and whether working in the formal and informal sector mean several definitions

can be adopted In this context Bamidele (2011) defines lsquocasualisationrsquo or a casual worker as

anybody who works in the informal sector or a formal sector employee with a casual temporary or

seasonal employment contract or part-time formal sector employee

In essence lsquocasualisationrsquo captures the phenomenal growth on non-standard employment globally

Theron (2005) notes that the International Labour Organisation used the term lsquodisguised

employmentrsquo or lsquotriangular employment relationshiprsquo to define the emergence of subcontractors

independent contractors fixed-term and all manners of informal work arrangements He further

distinguished between three types of casual labourer The first is the type engaged by the company

directly on a casual seasoned fixed-term or temporary basis Historically these categories of workers

were used to supplement the workforce during periods of peak demand Lately however casual

employment is steadily replacing permanent employment The second type of casual labour is a

triangular employment relationship in which a labour broker supplies labour to a firm The definition

of who the employer is in this relationship is not only tenuous but also technical and demands new

forms of regulation The third categories of casual labour are those who are ostensibly defined as

independent contractors

Kalleberg (2000) opined that standard work arrangements were the norms in many industrial nations

for much of the twentieth century which according to him accounted for the framework within

which labour law collective bargaining and the social security system developed He however

observed the changing trend which began in the mid-1970s as countries and organisations began to

adopt flexibility in their workplace relations He further opined that standard work arrangements

were the norms in many industrial nations for much of the twentieth century which according to

him accounted for the framework within which labour law collective bargaining and social security

systems develop

The notion of temporary employment is an indication of intermittent contract and suggests that the

jobs are not permanent Anecdotal evidence shows that there are instances of people employed for a

continuous temporary basis for as long as 15 to 20 years This trend is a common feature of the

petroleum sector in Nigeria and it is obvious in such a case that the labour is required but the

35

employer is not willing to pay the cost of permanent employment Von Hippel (1997) is of the view

that the key challenge in labour reforms and flexibility is not simply to rectify the problems

experienced by individual workers rather the problem is the processes of the reform itself The

significance of labour market reforms and flexibility according to Hall amp Mairesse (2006) is that it

is integral to labour management strategies the better deployment and not development of labour

According to Mathega (200959) flexible employment such as casual and subcontracted work goes

hand in hand with lower levels of income making it more difficult for workers to satisfy their basic

needs While the labour laws of most jurisdictions do not protect the workers who are drawn into the

flexible labour market worker exploitation has increased relatively in all sectors of the economy

Wage flexibility in this era of free market economies has also developed Horwitz amp Eskine (1995

290) elaborate that wages have shifted from uniform pay systems to performance-based pay for

either an individual or team The most detrimental labour market flexibility that has been the sole

result for unemployment and social degradation is numerical flexibility which allows the owners of

capital to reduce the size of the labour force to the laws of supply and demand This has resulted in

subcontracting of labour outsourcing the use of casual or seasonal labour and homework According

to Benjamin (2005) in the global labour market unemployment is described as the handmaiden of

flexibility

Two of the first scholars to place job insecurity in a larger theoretical context were Greenhalgh amp

Rosenblatt (1984) Their theoretical model summed up the definitions of job insecurity and

elaborated on the potential causes effects and organisational consequences of the phenomenon

Greenhalgh amp Rosenblatt defined job insecurity as a lsquoperceived powerlessness to maintain desired

continuity in a threatened job situationrsquo (1984 438) They further maintained that job insecurity is

based on the individualrsquos perceptions and interpretations of the immediate work environment

Job insecurity is also described as lsquoonersquos expectations about continuity in a job situationrsquo and as lsquoan

overall concern about the future existence of the jobrsquo (Davy et al 1997 323 Rosenblatt amp Ruvio

1996 587) Heaney et al (1994 1431) see insecurity of employment as lsquoan employeersquos perception of

a potential threat to continuity in his or her current jobrsquo and Hartley et al (1991 7) define it as lsquoa

discrepancy between the level of security a person experiences and the level she or he might preferrsquo

36

Pearce (1998 34) defined temporary employment as an objective type of job insecurity which is

characterised by lsquoan independently determined probability that workers will have the same job in the

foreseeable futurersquo

In studies of job characteristics Klandermans amp van Vuuren (1999) Hartley (1998) Chirumbolo amp

Hellgren (2003) and Burchell (1999) suggest that security is of great importance to workers Job

insecurity in general terms is conceived as the discrepancy between the levels of security a person

experiences and the level such person might prefer Some researchers limit the concept to the threat

of total job loss while others extend it to include loss of any valued condition of employment

including non-unionisation (Mythen 2005) These definitions according to Clark et al (2010)

encompass large numbers of workers who have insecure jobs often seasonal part-time or temporary

and frequently used to buffer short-term changes in labour requirements Workers in this secondary

labour market regard job insecurity as an integral part of their work experience and consequently

have a relatively stable set of beliefs about the labour market and their prospects

For workers in the primary labour market accustomed to long-term secure employment job

insecurity involves fundamental and involuntary changes from the perception that their position in

the organisation is safe to the perception that it is not restructuring involving downsizing

privatisation mergers and closure has led to an unprecedented rise in job losses among workers in

this primary labour market

Zeytinoglu et al (2012) examine the association between job satisfaction flexible employment and

job security among Turkish service sector workers The result shows that flexible employment

involving fixed- term contract paid and unpaid overtime on-call work and mismatched contract and

hours are not associated with job satisfaction rather it revealed that perceived job security is

positively associated with job satisfaction The study provides evidence that the perception of job

security rather than flexible employment is an important contributor to job satisfaction for Turkish

workers They opined that job security is an important extrinsic reward positively affecting job

satisfaction Advancing the expectancy theory they argued that workers will exert the greatest effort

if they expect that effort to lead to performance that will be rewarded in a desirable way

37

Others scholars such as Buumlssing (1999) and Ferrie et al (1998) have classified entire organisations

or workplaces as being more or less marked by job insecurity The basic assumption in these

objective definitions is that individuals who find themselves in types of employment andor

organisations that are classified as insecure experience more job insecurity than is the case with

individuals who hold a lsquosaferrsquo type of employment or work for an organisation deemed to be safe

As outlined by Gallie et al (1998) other researchers base their definitions of job insecurity on the

level of unemployment in society which means that a rise in unemployment can be interpreted as a

rise in general job insecurity

Mohr (2000 339) identified and discussed four different types of job insecurity

lsquoJob insecurity as a state of public awarenessrsquo which involves a high degree of unemployment in

society

lsquoJob insecurity at the company levelrsquo which refers to unstable and insecure conditions in the

organisation

lsquoAcute job insecurityrsquo involving the concrete subjective experiencing of a threat to employment

and

lsquoAnticipation of job lossrsquo which applies to a situation where layoffs have already begun to be

carried out in the organisation in which the individual is employed

Job insecurity can either be experienced at a personal level or attributed externally De Witte amp

Naumlswall (2003) found that amongst those experiencing a high degree of job insecurity it was the

permanent rather than the temporary employees who reported lower levels of both job satisfaction

and organisational commitment in comparison with the temporary employees These authors went on

to argue that job insecurity cannot only be conceptualised from the characteristics of the situation

but should contain an element of subjectivity

In their evaluation of job insecurity and affective commitment in seasonal versus permanent workers

Uumlnsal-Akbıyık et al (2012) opine that job insecurity is one of the outstanding characteristics of

secondary labour markets and as seasonal workers are a typical category of workers belonging to the

38

secondary labour market they face job insecurity They added that the replacement of seasonal

workers is easier when they leave their organisations that might also contribute to the level of job

insecurity perception among them Considering the fact that seasonal workers are not considered part

of the category of core workers one could expect that it might be harder for them to attach

emotionally to the organisation Sverke et al (2002) are of the opinion that job insecurity also makes

workers doubt their future in the current organisation and has been considered to be a factor that

reduces workersrsquo involvement in their organisations in terms of affective commitment

De Cuyper amp De Witte (2007) investigated how insecurity mediates or alters the link between

permanent and employment They used a range of outcome variables such as job satisfaction

organisational commitment trust engagement performance and turnover intention among others

with the aim of determining the impacts of job insecurity on the intensity of these variables The

findings of the survey from 656 participants showed that job insecurity reactions are peculiar to the

particular working relations They further highlighted that the impact of job security has more

damaging impact on the permanent employees as the non-standard do experience a high level of

insecurity while job satisfaction and desire to change jobs (labour turnover) are exclusive to the

permanent workers

Similarly Druker amp Stanworth (2004) investigated the link between employment agencies their

white collar temporaries and their client companies in terms of the psychological contracts possessed

by each party Their findings revealed that temporary workers were more aligned to their

employment agencies as opposed to the organisation for which they work The authorsrsquo perception is

that the temporary worker attached greater importance to the strong instability in their status as

agency lsquotemprsquo rather than job tenure This in view of the fact that client firms actively perceives

temporary workers as an outsider by denying them union membership even when they must have

worked for the organisation for so long

Like many other scholars Go et al (2010) examined the South African labour market and gave

reasons for the high rate of unemployment in the country to include the lack of effective labour

demand This is often attributed to weak economic growth especially during the 1970s to the 1990s

Hence the tradable sectors where employment is traditionally generated could not accommodate

39

new intakes because of the structural changes taking place in the economy which led to decline in

production The non-tradable sectors such as finance and business services were growing rapidly

but they are primarily skilled labour intensive Part of the high unemployment rate can be attributed

to post-apartheid protection of labour minimum wage and other labour policies (see Lewis 2001

Standing et al 1996 Bhorat 2001 Fallon amp da Silva 1994 Fallon amp Lucas 1998)

Connelly amp Gallagherrsquos (2004) analysis of contingent work revolves around the definitional

approach of the US Bureau of Labour Statistics The bureau views contingent work as lsquoany job in

which an individual does not have an explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment or one

in which the minimum hours worked can vary in a non-systematic mannerrsquo (Polivka amp Nardone

1989 in Connelly amp Gallagher 2004) The attitudes that flexible workers have towards their jobs

and more specifically towards temporary agency work seem to differ (Torka amp Schyns 2007) They

observed that not all temporary workers are forced into such arrangements Some actually prefer it

while others lsquolearntrsquo to appreciate temporary agency work over a lifetime of employment The latter

group which can be referred to as involuntary temporary workers are employees who were forced

into temp agency work because there were no alternatives but later changed their attitude towards

the job in the course of their employment as temporary agency workers Since the outcome of their

study is based on the assumption that the attitudes towards temporary work can change from

negative to positive and also from positive to negative within a temporary career they prefer the

term lsquotemporary agency work satisfactionrsquo over the dichotomy voluntary vs involuntary temporary

work

Havran et al (2003) examine the link between full-time and temporary employment and found that an

experience of flow takes place when a worker becomes so involved in hisher undertaken task that

heshe becomes oblivious to what is going on around himher They contend further that career

success is felt when people know that they are practicing daily the personal values that are important

to them and knowing that they are contributing positively to the work sphere (see Booth et al 2002

Bentolila amp Dolado 1994 Try 2004 Weiling amp Borghans 2001)

Furthermore Lee amp Faller (2005) reveal that permanent workersrsquo psychological contracts are more

relational and temporary workers are more transactional The aim of the study was to ascertain

40

whether the psychological contracts of non-standard workers would change from transactional that it

used to be relational the longer they had worked for a particular agency They discovered that the

growth in relational contracting is linked to temporary workers viewing the possibility of the

violations of their psychological contract as low as well as when organisational and supervisory

assistance is strong

Rogers (2000) made a comparison between the experiences of part-time lawyers and part-time

clerical workers The outcome of his analysis shows that part-time lawyers expressed more positivity

with their work The positive experiences of contract workers are linked to the type of occupation

they find themselves involved in He argues further on the implication of his finding that the semi-

skilled or unskilled temporary workers are in abundant supply easily replaceable and earn less than

their skilled counterpart since the demand for them does not really exist and concludes that all these

factors will affect their experiences negatively

Chew amp Horwitz (2002) created an integrated model to help organisations implement downsizing (or

rightsizing) with three focus area in mind that would aid management to focus on tactical planning

the setting of timetables and making available exit counselling for employees to be separated from

the organisation The model is not only commendable for its show of humanity in the execution of

downsizing but also that it advises organisations to downsize only if no other option is available

Downsizing is seen as the last resort after management has considered other ways in which labour

expenditure can be reduced as well as reassigning employees to other areas within the organisational

structure In South Africa this arrangement is contained in Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act

of 1995

Furthermore Allen amp Meyer (1996) and Houseman (2001) observed that management embarks on

retrenchment instead of other cost-reduction methods whenever they are experiencing financial

difficulty In essence this enables employers to be able to employ non-standard workers to meet the

work demand as management incurs less cost maintaining non-standard workers to fill in for

permanent employees who are not effectively on ground to perform their task

41

29 Analysis of Trends and Reforms in the Labour Market

Reforms are means of putting or changing any form of condition into an improved form or condition

The reversion to repair restore or correct emanates from the emergence of an ideology known as

neoliberalism which first gained acceptance in Chile and Britain in the 1970s According to Hardley

(2009) this ideology stipulates the need for reduction in the role of the state in the economy for

promotion of entrepreneurship investment and socio-economic development This is usually

achieved through reduction in subsidies tax reform tax cuts stabilisation of money supply free flow

of trade and other market-oriented reforms

According to Jennings amp Seaman (1994) the extremely widespread use of flexible labour shows that

the cost pressures and uncertainties of a more competitive world have penetrated to virtually every

corner of the global economy and even affect the kinds of work done by managers and professional

staff Hence the emergency of the new economy based on information technologies that aim at

decentralising management individualising work and customising markets has resulted in labour

flexibility and outsourcing as metaphor of industrialised economies The era of globalisation requires

organisations to adopt a flexible workforce that is multi-skilled knowledgeable interchangeable and

adaptable and these elements have affected the re-organisation of work globally Reforms in the

labour market have also resulted in detrimental effects on the labour force creating spheres of

unemployment and worker exploitation while ensuring that organisations enhance efficiency and

effectiveness resulting in better managerial and productive methods

Hence Paas et al (2003) suggested that labour market flexibility must be measured on both micro

and macro levels On the micro level flexibility is closely related to labour market flow analyses

The labour market can be characterised by various flows regarding transitions to and from

employment unemployment and non-participation as well as flows regarding job creation and job

destruction The standard measures used to analyses labour market dynamics such as net changes in

employment and unemployment conceal an important dimension of the functioning of the labour

market job turnover (job creation and job destruction at the level of individual firms) and labour

turnover (movement of individual into jobs through hiring and out of job through firing or

redundancy) Consequently analyses that focus on labour market flow might yield more information

about the state of the labour market than an analysis of employment and unemployment (Kalaste amp

42

Eamets 2004) At the macro level flexibility can further be divided into institutional and wage

flexibility Institutional flexibility theory of the labour market means the extent to which the state

institutions and trade unions are involved in the regulation of the labour market In this arrangement

institutions are defined as social entities that are characterised by their self-regulating nature

From the perspective of the state the most important aspect is to consider the impact of labour

market institutions on employment and economic growth as these are often more easily influenced

by government activities Institutions in the broader sense are the regulations and organisations that

affect wages and employment and its discussion include taxation labour laws minimum wages and

active labour measure etc Overall labour market reforms were aimed at eliminating distortions in

the market to allow for efficient resource allocation Efficient operation of the labour market is

important because the market has a major role to play in their economy Firstly the labour market is

an important channel for transmission of both external disturbances and adjustment policies For

instance labour market flexibility in reducing unemployment encountered in the adjustment process

Secondly labour markets in developing countries play an important role in determining the level and

distortion of income

Belot amp Van Ours (2000) extended the traditional lsquoright to managersquo model of wage bargaining to

labour market analysis The basic idea is that the firm alone manages bargaining between a union and

a firm sets wages and employment after wages are set by a bargaining between a union and a firm

and employment is managed by the firm alone after wages are set Reich (2008) posits that the labour

market is divided into two segments with a reduced mobility of workers between the two In the

primary or internal market wages and promotion are governed by administrative work rules rather

than market allocation mechanisms whereas the secondary or external market follows the rules of

perfect competitive markets While labour market segmentation theory attempts to account for the

persistence of low wages during the Fordist era increasing flexibility that was brought about by

management strategies in the 1980s it raised the question of whether the division between standard

and non-standard forms of employment were comparable to the division between primary and

secondary labour markets (Rosenberg 2007)

43

As soon as works on unemployment and labour market institutions started the complexity of this

relationship emerged (Lazear 1990) After decades of studies works and policies no clear

conclusion has been reached yet nor has it been possible to limit the domain of analysis Recently

however a growing interest has been shown with reference to the effects of work arrangements on

firmsrsquo productivity and ability to innovate Cahuc amp Postel Vinay (2002) highlighted that more

regulated labour markets induce human capital accumulation by increasing the proportion of skilled

workers thus leading to increased productivity and growth They suggest that any decrease in the

minimum wage should be probably matched by appropriate educational industrial or employment

subsidies in order to compensate the possible welfare losses arising from lowering this measure

Similarly Acemoglu et al (2001) showed that in non-competitive labour markets the existence of

minimum wages could increase firmsrsquo investments in training since it compresses the wage

structure The intuition behind this outcome is that minimum wage makes it more expensive for firms

to employ unskilled workers because they will obtain a wage level higher than the competitive level

According to Kleinknecht (1998) removing labour market rigidities might be beneficial in the short

term but it could become harmful in the long run since more flexibility in the labour market

discourages product and process innovation thus reducing productivity growth In addition softer

employment protection and more flexible wage setting will give an extra advantage to non-

innovative firms versus innovative firms In line with this assumption Bassanini and Ernst (2002)

found a negative relationship between labour market flexibility and research and development

intensity in industries with a more cumulative knowledge base

Kilicaslan amp Taymaz (2008) showed that countries that introduce more regulations on employment

conditions labour administration and training achieve higher levels of industrial productivity

Countries with low levels of inter-industry wage differentials are more successful in reallocating their

resources and raising productivity Arulampalam amp Booth (1998) deeply investigated the relationship

between fixed-term contracts and training part-time versus full-time work and the

complementarities between education and training Their analysis highlights a significantly lower

probability for men with temporary contracts to receive training On the contrary no significant

differences in training between part-time and full-time workers were observed

44

Coe et al (2009) further explored how temporary staffing markets are produced by the interactions

between industrial relations legal and regulatory frameworks on the one hand and the structures and

strategies of domestic and transnational temporary staffing agencies on the other They concluded

that the Australian labour market differs significantly to the labour markets of other liberal regimes

like Canada the UK and the United States which they are always compared to

They further argued that the regulation of the temporary staffing industry in Australia is light and

the mainstream employment and labour relations is regulated by a combination of awards and

agreements For them temporary staffing agencies are a form of labour market intermediary and are

a very particular kind of lsquopeople-basedrsquo business service activity with a core business of labour

supply to meet the needs of client organisations for contract workers of many kinds

Laursen amp Foss (2003) tested the hypothesis that human resource management positively influences

the firmrsquos innovation performance They concluded that change in the organisation of the

employment relationship such as team-based organisation decentralisation of decision rights

internal knowledge dissemination and quality circles does matter for a firm to be innovative They

claimed that workforce training and increased knowledge spreading for example through job

rotation might be expected to be a force The term lsquoknowledge managementrsquo is used to refer to the

practices ndash implicit or explicit ndash used by a firm to acquire new knowledge and to rearrange and

spread existing knowledge within the firm It also includes strategies that are independent either to

prevent the firmrsquos own knowledge from lsquoleakingrsquo out or to encourage the dissemination of its

knowledge to partner firms and others from whom the firm might benefit in mutual knowledge

exchange

Hall amp Mairesse (2006) pulling in the direction of a higher rate of improvement process and

innovations particularly stressed the importance of organisational requirements for co-ordinating the

complementarities between different technologies for reaping the benefit they might produce Also in

a similar framework Kleinknecht et al (2006) showed that external flexible labour in the 1980s and

1990s in Netherlands led to savings on firm wage bills leading to the Dutch job miracle

45

However this coincided with a decline in labour productivity ndash firms that have a high turnover or

high shares of temporary workers do not achieve significant increases in sales growth In addition

they highlight that firms that relied on internal flexibility were able in spite of higher wages to

increase their productivity significantly This confirms the position that functional flexibility is more

beneficial to innovators because it makes them more willing to invest in trust and loyalty of their

personnel which in turn is crucial for the accumulation of tacit knowledge

While the neoclassical and the human capital theories argue that the labour market functions in a

perfectly competitive manner dual labour market theory and the segmented labour markets posit that

the labour market is divided into two segments with a reduced mobility of workers between the two

In the primary (or internal) market wages and promotion are governed by administrative work rules

rather than market allocation mechanisms whereas the secondary (or external) market follows the

rules of perfectly competitive markets The primary market offers jobs lsquowith relatively high wages

good working conditions chances of advancement and employment stabilityrsquo (Piore 1975 126) The

secondary market is characterised by competitive wage-setting practices low wages poorer working

conditions less training job instability and on the whole fewer opportunities for career

advancement

The increasing flexibility that was brought about by changes in public policy and management

strategies in the 1980s raised the question of whether the division between standard and non-standard

forms of employment were comparable to the division between primary and secondary labour

markets (Rosenberg 1989 2007) The core idea of the literature on dual or segmented labour market

remains that the institutionalisation of distinct labour market segments with different ways of

functioning might force peripheral workers to accept bad jobs and might trap them permanently in

this inferior labour market status This is despite them initially having as high a level of skills as

those core workers who have found good jobs

Insideroutsider models make up the second body of literature that brings attention to exclusion in the

labour market This idea came with economists who were trying to explain why European labour

markets had failed to return to the previously low levels of unemployment after the oil and energy

price crisis Rather than seeing unemployment as a result of short-term economic shock as a valid

46

explanation many of the economists believed that labour market institutions were to blame for the

rise of the structural unemployment (Blanchard 2006) By granting workers employment protection

and wage-bargaining rights labour market institutions have had the side effect of excluding part of

the workforce from the labour market Dividing workers into different groups has also generated

divergent interests among workers It was on the basis of this ideology that Lindbeck amp Snower

(1988 2001) introduced the concept of labour market insiders and outsiders

The emphasis and focus of the literature on dual labour markets is the inequality with respect to pay

and employment conditions On the other hand insideroutsider models have mainly emphasised the

cleavages that exist between those in and those out of employment Insiders are incumbent

employees with experience and whose jobs are protected by various job-preserving measures that

make it costly for firms to fire them and hire someone else in their place On the contrary outsiders

lack such protection as they are either unemployed or work at jobs in the informal sector which

offer little if any job security (Lindbeck amp Snower 1988) The distinction between insiders and

outsiders is gravely noted by Saint-Paulrsquos (1998) where he emphasises the role played by political

(dis-)enfranchisement through non-representation by trade unions in generating inequalities between

the two categories of workers

291 Flexibility and Global Labour Market Segmentation

Deregulation lsquocasualisationrsquo and flexibility particularly in the third world including Nigeria cannot

be discussed without the roles of IMF and the World Bank Schmidt (2005) mentioned that the fund

attached more than 50 structural policy conditions to the typical three-year loan disbursed through its

extended fund facility in 1990 and nine to 15 structural conditions to its typical one-year standby

arrangement Additionally the IMF in order to move into areas like corporate behaviour accounting

methods and principles attacks on corruption and promotion of good governance etc has seriously

impacted on labour markets across the globe (Eichengreen and James 2003)

Over the past years labour markets have been affected by the slowing of global growth and the

economic recessions that erupted in 2008 made it more problematic as the labour markets had not

fully recovered from the crisis Six years since the onset of the crisis the unemployment rate for the

47

global labour market is still below the pre-crisis peak and because of this part-time and temporary

employment has increased (ILO 2012)

Vijayabaskar (2005) is of the view that capital-oriented flexibility as the labour process flexibility is

geared towards the needs of employers and compels labourers to adopt largely involuntary ways

Employment for part-time and other categories is insecure non-standard work such as self-

employment increases and the role of the state is minimal or confined largely to providing legislation

conducive to the powers of employers to hire and fire as they solely want Capital flexibility and

outsourcing have become rampant in the manufacturing mining retail and agricultural industry in

Nigeria

While the state advocates for negotiated flexibility its effects on labour have been the same

According to Osterman et al (2001) negotiated flexibility is characterised as a process that is

lsquosubject to co-ordinated or central bargaining between the major economic actors while non-

standard forms of employment can increase flexibility it has defined limits and allows for better

working lifersquo Non-permanent contract agency work self-employment and non-standardised work

have been the major characteristics of flexible labour processes these have resulted in major

criticism by creating spheres of unemployment exploitation a decrease in the labour absorption

rates and insecurities

One of the main proponents of neoclassical globalisation admits that ldquowages of low-skilled workers

will fall into a market that faces cheap imports Second that economic insecurity will increase for

almost everyone and as economic change speeds up nobody has a job for life Third the patterns of

existing income support and other forms of subsidy will become more explicit and therefore harder

to sustain In this mode labour becomes a commodity and less a production factor and in a Marxian

sense both production and consumption is marked by alienation Schmidt (2005) argued clearly that

this theory has a strong flaw of ideology among other factors

Another feature of the evolution called globalisation is what is called lsquofeminisation of labourrsquo

Empirical evidence shows that an unprecedented increase in the number of women workers in the

formal and informal labour force is linked to global production spheres and this special group is

48

hardest hit by lsquoflexibilisationrsquo and lsquocasualisationrsquo in order to keep wages and labour costs down and

productivity up Additionally it has been argued that the increase in part-time employment and other

forms of atypical work systems have gone hand in hand with increases in multiple job holdings

particularly for women These are clear signs of a global trend towards lsquoinformalisationrsquo of labour

lowering of wages and increasing unemployment as the most prominent outcomes of neoliberal

globalisation The word lsquoflexibilityrsquo serves to constrain political and social debate about the

restructuring of work and the labour market as it imposes the view that there is no alternative The

resulting impact of globalisation and flexibility is obviously that all social change will conform and

converge A race to the bottom seems to be implied by this approach as it calls for a decrease in

regulation levels of labour relations but also seeks to exert a downward pressure on welfare and

social benefits that are presumed to inhibit the incentive to work (Schmidt 2005)

Most Nigerian industries have always had a remarkable degree of employment flexibility through

capital flexibility They have also managed to attain more profits and enhance labour management

relations and the situation is similar to South Africarsquos employment trends Evidence by Webster amp

von Holdt (2005143) reveals that companies such as Sea Harvest in South Africa have introduced

extensive participatory processes and flexi-work This is seen as a way of improving performance to

be in line with the TQM management technique that gives autonomy to the worker The Sea Harvest

company was able to compress structures and reduce hierarchy as workers took increased

responsibility this was beneficial to the company as it was able to reduce production costs in

employing supervisors to control workers as well in enhancing motivation in the workforce They

argue that the introduction of INVOCOMS at Sea Harvest which allowed names to be introduced to

capture concepts of involvement communication and commitment were also major trends in

developing a flexible workforce and the invention of a network society also made it possible in the

companyrsquos bid to cut costs and work-related expenses

Webster amp Von Holdt further outline that these new forms of flexible manufacturing systems

adopted by Sea Harvest such as TQM (Total Quality Management) resulted in functional

flexibility According to Appelbaum et al (2000) and Arvanitas et al (2002) functional flexibility

presumably led to higher levels of skilled labour by removing barriers between grades and

categories They propound that the capacity to rotate workers across different tasks is normally

49

predicated on their prior fragmentation rather than combining them into something holistic The

other detrimental effects of flexibility also mean fewer rules and less bureaucracy They further

argue that the multi-skilling at the heart of functional flexibility represents a modest enlargement of

the range of tasks required rather than the more fundamental change in the direction of skill

enhancement From participation and flexible work at Sea Harvest the workers never benefited

instead remuneration remained low hard working conditions persisted and casual work temporary

work subcontracting and outsourcing also remained part of their working environment It is on this

note that Clarke (2005) noted that without a clear employment contract better working conditions

and legal protection casual workers have faced intense exploitation and are going through difficult

times

It is an undisputed fact that flexible labour markets rely on supply-side policy designed to increase

employment raise productivity and keep labour costs under control Hence the strongest supporters

of flexible labour markets are neoclassical economists who believe in the power of free market they

believe and argue for less government intervention in the labour market The global labour market

has undoubtedly become more flexible in the last twenty years with rising part-time employment for

most of this period and a shift towards short-term contracts in many occupation and industries

292 Who Benefits from the Labour Market Reforms

The benefits of labour market reforms can include providing services at a lower cost and higher

quality greater flexibility in the provision of services and a more rapid response to changing service

and customer needs Although labour market reforms have disadvantages such as undermining the

reliable provision of essential state services diminishing the accountability of those responsible for

the delivery of services labour disputes and the provision of unequal services (Lee 2001 Gilley amp

Rasheed 2000 Hilsenrath 2004) Furthermore some organisations adopted labour reforms and

flexibility as a way to reduce production cost and enhance managerial control

Mathega (2009) opined that competitiveness growth and reduction of costs have put pressure on

companies to restructure their workforce relations Despite the negative consequences of labour

market reforms firms attain benefits as the investment portfolio increases as well as reduction of

50

production costs Although flexible labour markets have created work in the part-time service sector

there has been less success in creating permanent full-time jobs

The use of casual temporary and subcontracted workers has eroded worker protection and rendered

unionism power useless Many organisations through numerical flexibility have found it easy to

retrench and dismiss the workers without any state or union involvement as most of the jobs are non-

permanent Mantashe (2005) and Voudouris (2007) point out that permanent jobs have been replaced

by flexible jobs that lack a standard employment relationship and that high contestation of labour

flexibility causes uncertainty in the job market in other words job security has been eroded The

impact of flexibility was populated by negative accounts of re-hiring redundant workers under

subcontractors with significant loss to pay benefits and health and safety protection

Labour reforms have adversely affected the labour market with worker security being eroded

compounded by intense workers exploitation However due to the changing global markets labour

flexibility has been adopted by most organisations to have a comparative advantage in trade

Although ILO (International Labour Organisation) advocates for protective labour market reforms

and flexibility the results have been detrimental as most of the employers resort to exploitative

methods of labour flexibility Labour market reforms in its variance such as massive franchising

outsourcing lsquocasualisationrsquo and flexible labour are the main critical issues among trade union

representatives in recent times As noted by Olowosile (2004) attempts at flexibility have received

hostilities from both government and trade unions as they fear insecurity and intense exploitation of

workers

Due to extreme labour market flexibility globally the Nigerian trade unions have argued that the

flexibility will bring detrimental effects to the labour force in the petroleum industry According to

Olowosile (2004) Shell is criticised for having a history around the world of suppressing union and

worker rights The major contradiction however is that labour flexibility itself creates employment

According to Rogers (20073) employment protection does not clearly lead to higher unemployment

although it was found to be associated with lower employment rates hence enhancing labour

flexibility will result in high employment rates even though the employment is not secure or

permanent

51

According to Benjamin (2005) externalisation flexibility ndash which includes subcontracting putting

out work use of self-employed buying instead of making components on-site use of independent

contractors or of employees lsquoon loanrsquo from other firms ndash is actually created for different sectors of

the economy However this contradiction can justify that flexible labour markets help to keep wages

close to the equilibrium and therefore avoid creating unemployment Labour market reforms have

also been at the heart of post-bureaucratic organisations according to Clarke (2005) reforms in the

labour market were in the bid to cut wages and cost reductions by cutting of benefits in pensions

loans access to schools meals union membership declined and weaken collective bargaining The

detrimental effects of labour reforms are the same as those of labour flexibility labour market

reforms lead to a redundant workforce with no employment re-employed only on a contract basis

when work becomes available

The practice of outsourcing and other forms of labour flexibility by Shell led to a labour crisis in the

sector in 2000 according to Olowosile (2004) there was increase in lost time injuries and fatalities

increase in absenteeism and staff turnover decreased productivity labour shortage and high turnover

of contracting businesses

293 Regulation of the Labour Market

Many scholars such as Freeman (2009) Kingdom et al (2006) and De Witte (2005) have discussed

labour market regulations and emphasised the benefits and costs of regulation They demonstrate

that using standard economic analysis the issue of regulation can be systematically explored They

also show that regulation can have a significant adverse impact on economic growth especially

regulation policies formulated at controlling prices and entry into labour markets that would

otherwise be workably competitive but will reduce growth and adversely affect the average standard

of living Additionally process regulation will impose a substantial cost on the economy while

social regulations might significantly positively influence the average if adequately designed (Guasch

amp Hahn 1999)

Labour market regulations are introduced with the stated objective of improving workersrsquo welfare

Similarly Heckman (2000) in his study of cost of job regulation in the Latin American labour

market documents the high level of job security protection in Latin American labour markets and

analyses its impact on employment to show that job security policies have substantial impact on the

52

level and distribution of employment in Latin America reduces employment and promotes

inequality Botero et al (2004) investigated the regulation of labour markets through employment

collective relations and social security laws in 85 countries

210 lsquoFlexicurityrsquo as a Form of Labour Market Regulation

The concept of lsquoflexicurityrsquo is defined as a policy strategy that attempts synchronically and

deliberately to enhance the flexibility of the labour market the work organisation and labour

relations on the one hand and to enhance employment and social security for weaker groups in and

outside the labour market on the other hand (Schmidt 2005) The idea of lsquoflexicurityrsquo was derived

from the Dutch labour market debate and has become the new overall policy of the European Union

in its attempt to distance itself from the US Jha and Golder (2008) reflected on a few issues relevant

to the ongoing debates on balancing flexibility and security for labour in the current era of

globalisation They stress the increasing importance of interdependence between different countries

through greater liberalisation of trade financial markets and foreign direct investments and an

increase in migration as posing new challenges to labour markets It is obvious in a context of

increasing globalisation that spaces for autonomous and nationalist policies are eroded and with

respect to the labour market policy makers can hardly ignore issues relating to flexibility It is in this

context that the recent discussions on the labour market flexibility must go together with socio-

economic security for labour

The concept of lsquoflexicurityrsquo as the name suggests attempts to combine the seemingly opposed

objective of flexibility and security in the functioning of the labour market There are two dimensions

of the lsquoflexicurityrsquo model the major flexibility concerns are external and internal numerical

flexibility functional flexibility wage flexibility and the security dimension deals with job security

employmentemployability security income security and combination security (Jah amp Golder 2008)

They further identified that differences exist among the various observers regarding the different

approaches towards lsquoflexicurityrsquo However the European Commission and its member states have

arrived at a consensus on a definition of lsquoflexicurityrsquo which comprises four components as described

by Aver (2007) in Jah amp Golder (2008)

53

Flexible and secured contractual arrangements and work organisations both from the

perspective of the employer and the employees through modern labour laws and modern

work organisation

Active labour market participation (ALMP) which effectively helps people to cope with

rapid change unemployment spells reintegration and importantly transition to new jobs ndash

ie the element of transition security

Reliable and responsive lifelong learning (LLL) system to ensure the continuous adaptability

and employability of all workers and to enable firms to keep up productivity levels and

Modern social security systems This provides adequate income support and facilitates labour

market mobility This includes provisions that help people combine work with private and

family responsibility such as child care

As a process variable this definition includes supportive and productive social dialogue and mutual

trust and highly developed industrial relations are crucial for introducing comprehensive

lsquoflexicurityrsquo policies covering these components Thus on a whole the common principles of

lsquoflexicurityrsquo adopted by the EU Commission are lsquomore and better jobs through flexibility and

securityrsquo In recent years firms have adopted various forms of non-standard work arrangements in

an attempt to improve service and product quality reduce production cycle times lower costs

increase their focus on core competencies and in general enhance organisational effectiveness

Temporary work is an omnibus term that covers several different forms of non-standard work

arrangements that include casual employment contract employment outsourcing fixed-term

employment on call employment (workers called in to an organisation as and when required) and

temporary agency employment In Nigeria these forms of employment differ from standard or

traditional forms of employment only in the sense that it does not confer on the employee benefits

such as pension gratuity benefits medical care job security and the right of freedom of association

211 Regulation of Labour Market in Nigeria

Nigeria is fast moving towards becoming a knowledge-based economy with a greater focus on

technology e-commerce financial and other business-to-business services In enhancing flexible

labour and outsourcing Nigerian companies have been able to comply with flexible changes in the

global economy and technological development In the competitive international markets it is

54

important that employees are able to change along with product or production method changes by

redeploying between activities and tasks (Atkinson 198528) However due to increased flexibility

and outsourcing job security has been eroded leading to disposable workers social protection

methods removed and mostly organisations have been faced by a limit in technology

Casual work according to Campbell (1996) relates atypical or flexible work to the precariousness

and absence of rights at the heart of employment It is a work arrangement that is characterised by

bad work conditions like job insecurity low wages and lack of employment benefits that accrue to

regular employees Additionally these categories of employees are denied the rights to organise

themselves into unions and collective bargaining According to Conradie (2007) the problem with

lsquocasualisationrsquo is not so much that it lowers the possible income of workers but that it increases the

lsquoprecariousness of their existencersquo

lsquoCasualisationrsquo contract staffing outsourcing and fixed-term employment are all forms of flexibility

that are very common in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria and have led to frequent industrial disputes

with consequent negative impact on the nationrsquos gross domestic product (GPD) In a bid to resolve

this situation the Federal Government in August 2010 constituted a technical working group with a

clear mandates of working out guidelines for the protection of rights of workers in the oil and gas

industry and all sectors of the Nigerian economy The membership of the working group cut across

the representatives of

Ministry of Labour

Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN)

Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG)

Oil-Producing Trade Sector (OPTC)

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NPPIMS)

Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR)

Nigerian Content Development Monitory Board (NCDMD) and

Ministries of Interior and Petroleum with the secretariat domiciled at the Ministry of Labour

and Productivity

55

According to Danesi (2011) a non-standard work arrangement which resulted from the effects of

globalisation and trade liberalisation and was facilitated by technological improvement in

communication and information technology is taking place in Nigeria Aladekomo (2004) argues

that lsquocasualisationrsquo as a predominant form of employment practice in Nigeria arose with the collapse

of the oil boom and the introduction of the structural adjustment programme in the early eighties

lsquoCasualisationrsquo and flexibility not only lead to lower wages and benefits in the Nigerian oil sector

but also increase the ratio of unpaid to paid labour and the intensity of work

The changing patterns of work such as casual contract temporary part-time employment

subcontracting and outsourcing etc are of great concern to the actors in the industrial relations

system in Nigeria This is because most companies involved in lsquocasualisationrsquo have adopted a lsquodo not

carersquo attitude towards labour standards and regulations According to Wollmann (2001) the common

feature in the Nigerian labour market revolves around implementation of methods that enhance co-

ordination precision and speed obedience and loyalty impartiality reduction of friction and

material and personal costs Labour market segmentation in Nigeria is agricultural-dominated with

the most happening in the rural areas

The manufacturing sector which is the secondary sector that used to engage a sizeable number of

workers is fast losing ground This can be attributed to low industrial capacity utilisation because of

infrastructural failures Clearly the extractive industry mainly oil and gas is the most lucrative as

per terms and conditions of work Hence entry into the oil sector requires high skills and as a result

very few people are in employment in this sector However there is an angle of lsquolocal pushinessrsquo that

have seen some not too educated people being employed to do the menial aspect of the production

processes (Odigie 2007) The practice of engaging casual workers for otherwise formal jobs has

since become almost standard practice to the oil companies in Nigeria Instances abound where

professionals and others with requisite qualifications are designated as casual staff working for more

than 10 years without conversion to formal permanent employment Most times the workers are

promised permanent tenure but sadly very few promises have materialised This practice thrives

due to the high unemployment rate especially among secondary school and university graduates

56

A fundamental feature of temporary employment is that on average temporary workers remain

detached from an ongoing relationship with the organisation for which they work This detachment


benefits and organisational identification Atypical employment or flexible labour as an alternative

for todayrsquos business has become a standard feature in modern organisations in Nigeria This practice

is rifer in the banking and oil and gas industries In light of the above Nigerian oil workers are

vulnerable to a kind of industry-wide shift away from regular full-time work towards forms of

cheaper temporary labour and short-term contracting

Despite all the statutory provisions in place to enhance flexibility post-Fordist organisations have

promoted multi-skilling job rotation and different forms of team work to structure the workplace

(Horwitz amp Smith 1998) Furthermore these organisations promote employee participation and

work time flexibility and patterns of working time through continuous shifts systems have also been

encouraged

The most common types of labour market processes that are practiced in Nigeria are capital-oriented

flexibility and negotiated flexibility Production systems in the oil sector in Nigeria have also

changed the organisational structures According to Rodgers (20074) the growth of global

production systems is probably the most significant factor here introducing flexibility and adaptation

through new sourcing arrangements that bypass national policies According to Kalleberg (2003)

flexible labour processes in organisations emanated from work rules that were embodied in

contractual relations rights and grievance procedures Such arrangement gave unions high

bargaining power and employment protection from the state by providing legislation that limited

employersrsquo power to adapt to the mechanisms of supply and demand

The two extremes from which state policy intervention can take in matters relating to labour-

management relations in Nigeria are complete laissez-faire and total state direct control of the

condition of labour Unions everywhere operate in an environment of legal and political controls

specifically through statute administrative regulation and judicial decisions and the larger

community enforces its will in public policy A review of Nigeriarsquos labour history shows that the

57

country has undergone two phases (Gbosi 1996 Otobo 1988) and these are the periods of regulation

and deregulation respectively

Regulation in its broader sense means the imposition of restrictions on the various sectors of an

economy For example prior to the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in

July 1986 regulatory controls was the main approach to macroeconomic management in Nigeria

The word lsquoderegulationrsquo found its place in the vocabulary of Western economists several thousand

years ago However it became more popular among Nigerian policy makers and economists in 1986

with the introduction of the World Bank-advised structural adjustment programme

Since 1986 economic deregulation had been the central framework of macroeconomic management

in Nigeria Economic deregulation means different things to different people In the view of Odozi

(1991) deregulation does not mean the absence of regulation Rather it means the deliberate

informed process of removal or mitigation of restrictions that are obstacles or non-deterministic and

tend to reduce efficiency or competitive equities However Fajana (2000) has defined economic

deregulation as the deliberate and systematic removal of regulation controls structures and

operational subsidies which might have mitigated growth operations and efficient allocation of

resources in an economy

Thus the deregulation of an economy or its component segments is the belief that the factors of

production goods and services are optimally priced and allocated where other prices are freely

determined in a competitive environment Consequently the factor that usually calls for deregulation

is the imbalance between demand and supply in the product and factor markets No matter how one

defines deregulation the underlying philosophy is that it tends to promote competition and efficiency

in the allocation of resources in the economy

212 Labour Size Unemployment and Job Creation Effort in Nigeria

The size of Nigeriarsquos labour force was difficult to calculate due to the absence of accurate census

data The labour force increased from 183 million in 1963 to 294 million in 1983 Census data

apparently understated the number of self-employed peasants and farmers but estimated that the

proportion of Nigerians employed in agriculture livestock forestry and fishing fell from 568 percent

58

in 1963 to 335 percent in 1983 The percentage of the labour force employed in mining rose from 01

percent in 1963 to 04 percent in 1983 Exactly comparable data was lacking on manufacturing but

from 1965 to 1980 the industryrsquos share of the labour force rose from 10 percent to 12 percent

whereas the services sector grew from 18 percent to 20 percent of the labour force (Federal Office of

Statistics 1990)

The national unemployment rate estimated by the Office of Statistics as 43 percent of the labour

force in 1985 increased to 53 percent in 1986 and 7 percent in 1987 before falling to 51 percent in

1988 due to measures taken under the SAP Most of the unemployed were city dwellers as indicated

by urban jobless rates of 87 percent in 1985 91 percent in 1986 98 percent in 1987 and 73 percent

in 1988 Underemployed farm labour often referred to as disguised unemployed continued to be

supported by the family or village and therefore rural unemployment figures were less accurate than

those for urban unemployment Among the openly unemployed rural population almost two thirds

were secondary school graduates (Federal Office of Statistics 1990)

The largest proportion of the unemployed (consistently 35 to 50 percent) was secondary school

graduates There was also a 40 percent unemployment rate among urban youth aged twenty to

twenty-four and a 31 percent rate among those aged fifteen to nineteen Two thirds of the urban

unemployed were fifteen to twenty-four years old Moreover the educated unemployed tended to be

young males with few dependents There were relatively few secondary school graduates and the

lowered job expectations of primary school graduates in the urban formal sector kept the urban

unemployment rate for these groups to 3 to 6 percent in the 1980s

213 Labour Market Reforms The Case of Shell Petroleum Development Company

Shell is the most dominant multinational oil company in Nigeria and the Shell venture accounted for

over 42 percent of Nigeriarsquos oil production By early 2000 oil production accounted for 90 of the

countryrsquos foreign exchange receipts while oil exports accounted for 97 of total export receipts Oil

production revenues provided for 70 of budgetary revenues and 25 of GDP Shellrsquos operations in

Nigeria present a puzzle to scholars because it has continued to expand its business in the country

despite expropriation and active sabotage of pipelines and many alternative investment opportunities

in many other countries

59

Frynas (1998) argues that Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria is a controversial

company and the host community workers are mainly in the insecure peripheral segment of the Shell

Nigeria internal labour market (Mordi amp Mmieh 2009) This and many other factors such as

environmental degradation and pollution have accounted for the continuous agitation and

restiveness of the youths in the host communities

Clarke (20055) argues that the labour conditions in the oil industry in Nigeria fell short of the ILO

definition of decent work The labour market in Nigeria is characterised by low minimum wages no

unions ndash hence no collective bargaining ndash threat of further job losses due to mechanisation

contractor mismanagement lack of social protection job insecurity lack of effective social dialogue

among the social partners labour employer and government The state in Nigeria plays two roles

the role of an actor as employer of labour and as a regulator through the enactment of legislations

(Rodgers 1989 11)

Shellrsquos annual report in the past three years shows that Shell directly employed 6000 core workers

while over 13 000 were retained in the peripheral segment of the company labour force (People and

the Environment Annual Report 2011) Available evidence shows that Shell Nigeria has much

closer ties with the Nigerian administration than with the communities that are their operational base

(Omeje 2005)

Recent development in employment relation in Nigeria with emphasis on Shell Petroleum

Development Company as focus in the contexts of the distinctive elements of the Nigeria social-

political and industrial relations systems as well as the recent global economic crisis some firms are

pursuing functional flexibility and more co-operative employment relations However the logic of

competition has primarily induced firms to adopt practices that promote numerical flexibility such

that a core periphery is created Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria has promoted

casual work temporary work subcontracting and outsourcing and is not obligated to this category of

workers because they do not have direct contractual arrangements with them even though some of

these workers tend to remain secondary over a long period of time (Mordi amp Mmieh 2009)

60

Shell is among the multinational oil companies in Nigeria that was compelled with pressure of

deregulation and liberalisation of the Nigerian economy to adopt a flexible labour force and

outsourcing (Mordi amp Mmieh 2009) According to them the restructuring process in Shell started

by introducing and making use of flexible forms of employment such as lsquocasualisationrsquo part-time or

temporary work and externalisation Hence the implication of creating labour flexibility in Shell

Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria has created spheres of worker exploitation

unemployment and job insecurity

Following the guidelines on labour administration issues on contract staffing and outsourcing in the

oil and gas sector set up by the Federal Government workers in the peripheral segment in Shell

Nigeria were allowed to unionise Most companies in the oil sector of the Nigerian economy

including Shell willingly practice deliberate measures to erode employment security and increase

the number of workers on non-standard contracts in order to adapt to the mechanisms of supply and

demand of labour (Mordi amp Mmieh 2009)

214 Conclusion

In this chapter the researcher evaluated the contributions of various scholars to labour market

flexibility and employment security Firstly it explains what the labour market is as distinguishing it

from the commodity market Thereafter flexibility as a concept derives from neoclassical theory

suggesting that in a labour market with no regulation the price mechanism stabilises the market and

allocates resources Pareto efficiency Flexibility it was argued is a development informed by

rocketing costs of employment-related benefits that made employers search for a way to streamline

their operating costs avoiding unionised workers and increasing the power of employers over

workers who are not covered by collective agreements

The chapter enumerated and explained the types of flexibility making clear distinctions amongst the

three major ones ie numerical functional and wage flexibility The researcher noted in this

chapter the negative impacts of globalisation on employment and the world of work one of which is

for the core once-upon-a-time beneficiaries of lifetime employment to shrink in numbers while

insecure temporary and contract employment continue to grow

61

Thirdly the implication of this trend on labour movement was examined It was noted that labour

unions are often incorporated into the concept of labour market due to their membership and

collective bargaining coverage but with the decline in union density and strength attributed to

changing patterns of employment and labour market insecurity the power of unions has reduced

drastically The implication of this trend for unions is that the growth of their membership is affected

by the fact that these segmented workers are not easy to organise and most of them do not have the

propensity to join a union

The researcher maintained that while trade unions still continue to play important roles in

employment relations it is apparent that they are no longer as vigilant as they used to be the move

away from extreme dependency on human labour for the execution of work has facilitated the

vulnerability of trade unions and has reduced trade unionsrsquo density and dependency

As noted in this investigation workers in the internal labour market of Shell Nigeria have been

divided into the primary and the secondary margins and this division is reflected in the variations in

the terms of the contract conditions of service and the opportunities available to those working in

the same work environment and exposed to the same kind of risk The primary labour market has the

feature of high incomes fringe benefits job security and good prospects for upward mobility On the

other hand the secondary labour market is typified by insecurity low incomes little training less

favourable employment conditions and decline in real wages Additionally there is no legal

protection for this class of workers One must quickly add that this development is a negation of the

provision of Section 17 (e) of the Constitution of the Federation of Nigeria which guarantees lsquoequal

pay for equal work without discrimination on account of sex or any ground whatsoeverrsquo

62

Chapter Three


31 Introduction

As earlier stated the purpose of this research work is to examine the impact of labour reforms on

employment security in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria This chapter provides a

theoretical context upon which the study is theoretically grounded The theoretical contribution

made in this thesis can be traced back to the changes and trends in the labour market and its attendant

implication on job security The various theories mentioned in the initial chapter as well new and

emerging theories relating to the labour market are thoroughly examined in this chapter

32 Theoretical Contribution

Ideally a research work evaluating a significant challenge such as I have embarked on should be

able to present a theoretical substance of challenging theories point out the empirical implication of

these theories explain their differences and spell out the policy implications of competing theories

(also see Cain 1975 Clasen amp Clegg 2003 Kemmerling amp Bruttel 2006) In order to establish the

context of these challenges we must observe that new theories of labour market such as the dual and

segmented theories that emerged in the 1960s This was a result of the movement for social reforms

and demand for full participation in the economy by minority groups and women

321 Marxist Theory in Relation to Labour Market Formation

The first theory examined in trying to understand the impact of labour market reforms on

employment security is the classical Marxist theory One of the reasons for the incorporation of the

Marxist theory in this research is the manner and extent to which Karl Marx developed the concept

of capital as a unity containing two elements production and circulation (Lebowitz 1976) Marx

(1990) argued that capital existed incipiently on a small scale for centuries in the form of merchant

renting and lending activities and occasionally also as small-scale industry with some wage labour

This statement is an admission by Marx that wage labour existed for centuries albeit on a modest

scale before the advent of capitalism The advent of capitalism according to Marx dates from the

16th century with relatively small urban workshops

63

Classical Marxist views of labour markets were entrenched in the twentieth century by the two

dominant and competing political and economic systems of the time the welfare state capitalism and

state socialism In spite of their ideological differences both systems made labour the core of their

development strategies by reinforcing the idea that to labour is a necessary and lsquogoodrsquo activity that

must be protected at all costs as expressed by state and trade union policies directed at the right to

labour the protection of the rights of labour and a belief in the duty to labour For both the welfare

capitalist and socialist states of the time this meant a promotion of labour Under both communism

and welfare state capitalism full employment was seen as the major instrumental goal (see Cronon

1991 Bauman 1998 Mann 2008) For organised labour Standing (1999) argues that this period

was regarded as the golden age where organised labour or the working class movement posed a real

threat to capitalists

Marxist theory is grounded on the notion of the mode of production in fact it is a theory that refers

to the specific difference of a capitalist social power and the structure of economic exploitation

specifically the capitalist mode of production and it does not mean an existing object and is not

concerned with the concept of an empirically conceivable reality (Millios 1989160)

Marx argues that for the capitalist mode of production to emerge as a distinctive mode of production

dominating the whole production process of society many different social economic cultural

technical and legal-political conditions had to come together However for most of human history

these did not come together Capital existed commercial trade existed but it did not lead to

industrialisation and large-scale capitalist industry He opined that for this to take place a whole

series of new conditions are required namely

Specific technologies of mass production the ability to independently and privately own and

trade in means of production

A class of workers compelled to sell their labour power for a living a labour law framework

promoting commerce and workplace relations and

A physical infrastructure making the circulation of goods on a large scale possible security

for private accumulation and so on

As seen in the Nigerian Shell-dominated sphere oil is a particularly salient example of the challenge

space poses to capitalism By using this theory the researcher does not intend to imply that the

64

capitalist mode of production is dominant in society where Shell is located as there might be other

political social and cultural problems standing as obstacles to the development of capitalist markets

particularly in an emerging economy such as Nigeria

322 Capitalists and their Labour Exploitation Tendencies

A quick snapshot at the Marx theory of surplus value which is considered the best of his

revolutionary contribution to the economic philosophical sciences confirms the expression that open

market policies do not make provision for the protection of the labourer against exploitation Thus

eventually the capitalistrsquos aim as Marx (1959) presupposed is to make profit and not share the

surplus with the workers His is opinion of lsquolaws of motionrsquo of the capitalist mode of production

undoubtedly constitutes his most impressive scientific achievement A mode of production is the way

in which a society is organised economically and where there exists a distinctive relationship

between the main factors of production ndash ie land labour and capital (Knox et al 2003) Similarly

Jessop (2002) affirmed that the simple but accurate way of explaining capitalism would be to explain

it as an economic and social system of society

Marx and even those after him did not provide a complete definition of the capitalist mode of

production although he sometimes made an attempt in his manuscript Das Kapital to do so What

really defines the capitalist mode of production in the Marxian tradition are the means of production

that dominate the direct producers as an alien power the existence of a class of workers that does not

hold or have power and the existence of an elite ruling class that controls the country and by

extension exploits the working class From the onset one would like to attest that all the features

identified in the Marxist theory are part of the Shell labour market which of late has been engulfed

by reforms

Barbrook (2006) summarises the essential defining characteristics of the capitalist mode of

production as follows

The means of production or capital goods and the means of consumption or consumer goods that

are mainly produced for market sale

The output is produced with the intention of sale in an open market

65

Only through sale of output can the owner of capital claim part of the surplus product of human

labour and realise profits

Equally the inputs of production are supplied through the market as commodities

Input and output prices are mainly governed by the market laws of supply and demand and

ultimately by the law of value

Money is to fuel both the means of production and labour in order to make commodities

Commodities must be sold to the market for a profit

The profit once again becomes part of a larger amount of capital that the capitalist reinvests to

make more commodities and ultimately more and more capital

Private ownership of the means of production as effective private control andor legally enforced

ownership with the consequence that investment and management decisions are made by

private owners of capital who act autonomously from each other and because of business

secrecy and the constraints of competition do not co-ordinate their activities according to

collective conscious planning

Enterprises that are able to set their own output prices within the framework of the forces of

supply and demand

The development of production technology that is guided by profitability criteria

Gainful employment by the direct producers who are compelled to sell their labour power

because they lack access to alternative means of subsistence other than being self-employed or

employers of labour if only they could acquire sufficient funds and can obtain means of

consumption only through market transactions and

Wage earners who are mostly lsquofreersquo in a double sense they are lsquofreedrsquo from ownership of

productive assets and they are free to choose their employer

Having outlined the above characteristics the proliferation of fragmented decision-making processes

by owners and managers of private capital social production is mediated by competition for asset-

ownership political or economic influence costs sales prices and profits The competition occurs

between owners of capital for profits assets and markets between owners of capital and workers

over wages and conditions and between workers themselves over employment opportunities and

civil rights Hence the overall aim of capitalist production under competitive pressure is

66

To maximise net profit income as much as possible through cutting production costs increasing

sales and monopolisation of markets and supply

Capital accumulation to acquire productive and non-productive assets and

Privatise both the supply of goods and services and their consumption and the larger portion of

the surplus product of labour must usually be reinvested in production since output growth and

accumulation of capital mutually depend on each other

The lessons learnt from the Marxist theory clearly reflect that a new class of structured society

emerges out of this mode of production Firstly a class of owners and managers of private capital

assets in industries and on the land is inevitable Secondly a class of wage and salary earners a

permanent reserve army of labour consisting of unemployed people and various intermediate classes

such as the self-employed and owners of small businesses Thirdly the lsquonew middle classesrsquo who are

educationally equipped set the basis of which they are placed on higher salaries

As noted in the Marxist theory the finance of the capitalist state is heavily dependent on levying

taxes from the population and on credit that is the capitalist state normally lacks any autonomous

economic basis that would guarantee sufficient income to sustain state activities The capitalist state

defines a legal framework for commerce civil society and politics which specifies public and

private rights and duties as well as legitimate property relations It is a fact that capitalist

development occurs on private initiative also in a socially un-co-ordinated and unplanned way and

features periodic crises of overproduction This means that a critical fraction of output cannot be sold

at all or cannot be sold at prices realising the previously ruling rate of profit The other side of

overproduction is the over-accumulation of productive capital As more capital is invested in

production that can obtain a normal profit the consequence is a recession or in severe cases a

depression As a corollary mass unemployment occurs many of which had occurred since the early

days of capitalism in the 1820s

Mandel (1970 2013) comments that other than Marxism no significant work or other 19th century

author has been able to foresee in a coherent way how capitalism would develop function and

transform the world He further observed the obvious controversy created by the capitalism mode of

67

production and listed them in logical order rather than the degree of consensus to include the

following six key assumptions

3221 The Capitalists Compulsion to Accumulate

For Mandel (1970) capital is the form of accumulated money made available into circulation in

order to increase in value and the purpose of business to accumulate profit His argument is that no

owner of money capital will engage in business in order to recuperate exactly the sum initially

invested He further attests that profit can also originate outside the sphere of production in a pre-

capitalist society but it is essentially a transfer of value which is primitive accumulation of capital

However under the capitalist mode of production where capital has not only penetrated the sphere

of production but also dominates it profit or surplus value is derived through wage labour

By the nature of capitalism capital can only appear in the form of many capitals and given its

social-historical origin in private property appropriation of the means of production implies

unavoidable competition Competition in a capitalist mode of production is competition for selling

commodities in an anonymous market While surplus value is produced in the process of production

it is realised in the process of circulation ie through the sale of the commodities The consequence

of this competitive nature of capitalism is that it strives to always get the better of a competitor

which is only possible by investing more capital This is possible by retaining and adding part of the

surplus value that has been accumulated to the previously existing capital The inner logic of

capitalism is therefore not only to lsquowork for profitrsquo but also to work for capital accumulation Thus

Marx (1999368) highlighted that without competition the fire of growth would burn out

3222 The Tendency Towards Constant Technological Revolutions

In the capitalist mode of production accumulation of capital implies accumulation of productive

capital or capital invested to produce more and more commodities Competition is therefore above

all competition between productive capitals ie lsquomany capitalsrsquo engaged in diversification The main

weapon in competition between capitalist firms is cutting production cost and the use of more

advanced methods of production as well more lsquorationalrsquo labour organisation these are the main

means to this end The trend of capital accumulation in the capitalist mode of production is towards

more and more sophisticated machinery Capital growth takes the dual form of a higher and higher

68

value of capital constant revolutions in the techniques of production and constant technological

progress

3223 The Capitalistrsquos Unquenchable Thirst for Surplus Value Extraction

The tendencies for capital growth and the irresistible urge for capital accumulation are achievable

through a constant drive for the increase of the production of surplus value Capital accumulation is

nothing but surplus value capitalisation and the investment of part of the new surplus value into

additional capital The capitalist has no source of additional capital other than additional surplus

value produced in the process of production Marx distinguishes two different forms of additional

surplus value production (i) Absolute surplus value accretion which is achieved through the

extension of the working hours and day If the worker reproduces the equivalent of his wages in four

hours a day an extension of the work day from 10 to 12 hours will increase surplus value from six to

eight hours and (ii) Relative surplus value accretion occurs through an increase of the productivity

of labour in the wage-goods sector of the economy Such an increase in productivity implies that the

equivalent of the value of an identical basket of goods and services consumed by the worker could be

produced in two hours instead of four hours of labour If a dayrsquos work remains stable at 10 hours and

real wages remain stable too surplus value will then increase from six to eight hours These

processes known as the lsquoreal subsumptionrsquo are the subordination of labour under capital and

represent not only an economic but also a physical subordination of the wage earner Likewise it is

the main tool for maintaining a modicum of social equilibrium for when productivity of labour

strongly increases above all in the wage-good-producing sectors of the economy real wages and

profits (surplus value) can both expand simultaneously What were previously luxury goods can even

become mass-produced wage-goods

3224 The Tendency Towards Growing Concentration and Centralisation of Capital

The growth of the value of capital means that each successful capitalist firm will be operating with

more and more capital Marx calls this the tendency towards growing concentration of capital With

the competition inherent in the process of capitalism it is bound to bring about victors and

vanquished The victors continue to grow in business while the vanquished go bankrupt or are

absorbed by the victors This process is called the lsquocentralisation of capitalrsquo This will result in a

declining number of firms that can survive in each of the key fields of production Some groups of

69

capitalists who cannot survive the competition will end up disappearing as independent

businesspersons In turn they will become salary earners employed by successful capitalist firms

From the foregoing capitalism itself can be considered as the big lsquoexpropriatingrsquo force suppressing

private property of the means of production for many in favour of private property for few

3225 The Inevitability of Class Struggle Under Capitalism

Class struggle is inevitability in the capitalist mode of production Marx contends that irrespective of

the historical development wage earners will form associations ie trade union to collectively

negotiate on their behalf and replace the individual sale of the labour power This proposition has

been considered to be one of Marxrsquos best projections because when he made the projection there

were less than half a million organised workers unlike the present day capitalist society where the

introduction of wage labour has not led to the appearance and formation of workersrsquo union

3226 The Tendency Towards Growing Social Polarisation

Derived from the earlier remunerated trends of growing centralisation of capital and towards the

growth of the mass of surplus value is derived from the trend towards growing social polarisation

under capitalism The proletariat that extends far beyond productive workers in and by themselves

will continually increase while the proportion of people working without wage independent

peasants continues to decrease this is not to imply that the middle class would disappear While

many businesses disappear especially in times of economic depression due to severe competition

others will emerge especially in the interstices between big firms and in new sectors Thus Harvey

(1989) perceived accumulation as openness in the labour markets method of production product

and consumption trends and characterised by the rise of new production industries and unique ways

of financial service provision resulting in the creation of new markets and strengthening rates of

commercial technological and organisational innovation Harvey opined that spatial displacement

require lsquospatial fixrsquo which implies that extra capital and labour must be absorbed in geographical

extensions which will subsequently require the establishment of new areas within which capitalist

manufacturing can take place eg through searching for new ways to exploit labour power

Similarly Jessop (2001) in his analysis of the transformations of capital accumulation process

observed that capitalism is concerned with the shift from the post-war Keynesian welfare national

70

state and Atlantic Fordism to the post-Fordist accumulation regime and to what he referred to as the

lsquoSchumpeterian competition stagersquo The focus of Jessoprsquos analysis is not limited to the restructuring

of the welfare state but also on the interconnections within the knowledge-based economy as well

as the impact of processes of globalisation and Europeanisation on the expansion of capital

accumulation He derived his analytical instrument from four different theoretical schools the

regulation theory the political economy approach the critical discuss analysis and the autopoietic

systems One fundamental premise of Jessoprsquos analysis is that the capitalist mode of production is

not self-regulating Rather the capitalist mode of production is an object of regulation by the state

and other extra-economic powers which lsquocomprises of an ensemble of socially embedded socially

regularised and strategically selective institutions organisations social forces and actions organised

around (or at least involved in) the expanded reproduction of capital as a social relationrsquo (Jessop

20015)

3227 The Crisis of Capitalism

Marx did not produce a treaty on the crisis of capitalism his contributions and comments on the

issue are contained in his major economic writing and his articles for Daily Tribune in New York

Many interpretations of the lsquoMarxist theory of crisesrsquo have been offered by economists who consider

themselves Marxists their common ground has been that over-accumulation or anarchy of

production (under-consumption) and lack of purchasing power of the lsquofinal consumersrsquo are the cause

of crises (see Bell 1977 Hobsbawn 1976 and Postone et al 1995) Under capitalism which is

generalised commodity production no overproduction is possible that is not simultaneously

overproduction of commodities and overproduction of capital (over-accumulation)

The crisis of the capitalist mode of production is a disturbance and interruption of the process of

enlarged reproduction and the process of reproduction is precisely a contradictory unity of

production and circulation Marx generally rejected any idea that the working class through their

union formations caused the crisis by lsquoexcessive wage demandsrsquo He further argued that under

conditions of lsquofull employmentrsquo real wages generally increase just as it is possible for the rate of

surplus value to increase simultaneously too and he concluded that it cannot increase in the same

level and proportion as the organic composition of capital The result of this was decline in the

average rate of profit which consequently led to the crisis

71

From the foregoing two major developments that caused the crises of the capitalist mode of

production are established these are (i) Over-accumulation and (ii) The falling rate of profit

Over-accumulation

In Marxistsrsquo opinion over-accumulation is one of the fundamental causes of the crisis of capital

accumulation Accumulation can reach a point where the reinvestment of capital no longer produces

returns When a market becomes flooded with capital a massive devaluation occurs This over-

accumulation is a condition that occurs when surpluses of devalued capital and labour exist side by

side with seemingly no way to bring them together (Cass 2011 and Harvey 2011) The inability to

procure adequate value stems from a lack of demand Arrighi amp Moore (2001) provided why and

how accumulation takes place they argue that material expansion by government and business

created more intense divisions of labour that led to increasing rates of profit for the capitalists

The falling rate of profit

The tendency of the rate of profit to fall has however been commonly identified with Karl Marx and

has been regarded as one of the most contentious elements in his intellectual contribution and legacy

with some calling it the most important law of the modern political economy In Marx terminology

constant capital grows faster than variable capital the growth of which he termed the lsquoorganic

composition of capitalrsquo ndash a logical corollary of capital accumulation In this arrangement and scheme

of things the only source of value for the system is labour and as stated earlier if investment grows

more rapidly than the labour force it must also grow more rapidly than the value created by the

workers The working population has been relegated because capital investment grows more rapidly

than the source of profit ie capital investment grows more rapidly than the source of profit which

consequently leads to a downward pressure on the rate of profit

Marx in Itoh (1978) attempted to show in his writing that lsquoa steep and sudden fall in the general rate

of profitrsquo due to absolute overproduction of capital in a ratio to the labouring population brings forth

cyclical crises (Itoh 1978) The theory of profit as presented by Marx has been subjected to

criticism since its first appearance in Volume 3 of Capital in 1894 Two of the first critics were the

liberal Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce and the German neoclassical economist Eugen von

Bohm-Bawerk

72

The first criticism as explained by Harman (2007) was that there need not be any reason for new

investment to be lsquocapital intensiversquo rather than a lsquolabour intensive formrsquo as argued by Marx The

critics said there is no reason for capitalists to invest in machines instead of labour According to

Harman (2007) rather than bringing the system to an end the crisis paradoxically opened up new

prospects for it Some of the capitalists who cannot cope with the competitive trend in the system

were pushed out of business a development that permitted a recovery of the profits of others The

situation is further compounded by the means of production bought at bargain basement prices raw

material prices slumping and unemployment forcing workers to accept low wages

Contrary to the opinion of many economists academic and Marxist alike Marx explicitly rejected

any illusion that production more or less automatically finds its own market The ups and downs of

the rate of profit during the business cycle do not reflect only the gyrations of the outputdisposable

income relation or of the lsquoorganic composition of capitalrsquo They also express the varying correlation

of forces between the major contending classes of bourgeois society in the first place the short-term

fluctuations of the rate of surplus value reflecting major victories or defeats of the working class in

trying to uplift or defend its standard of living and its working conditions Labour organisation

lsquorationalisationrsquo is a capitalrsquos weapon for neutralising the effects of these fluctuations on the average

rate of profit and on the rate of capital accumulation

33 Dual Labour Market Theory

According to this theory the dual labour market is divided into primary and secondary markets The

primary market is higher paying with possibilities of promotion job stability and better working

conditions On the other hand the secondary market comprises of workers who have unstable

working patterns and low-paying jobs (Wachter et al 1974 Cain 1975 Kreckel 1980)

Segmentation economists argue that ignoring the different identities of these segments and the

constraints they place on the workers makes it impossible to understand the nature of labour market

disadvantages The dual approach hypothesises states that a dichotomy has developed over time

between a high-wage primary segment and a low-wage secondary segment Working conditions in

the primary segments are generally favourable There is steady employment job security is assured

and the rules that govern the organisation of employment are well defined and equitable The

characteristics of secondary employment on the other hand are less favourable Work here has little

73

job security and there are high turnovers rates additionally there are few opportunities for training

or advancement and the work tends to be menial and repetitive Corresponding to this duality in the

character of a job is a further distinction between primary (core) and secondary (peripheral) industrial

sectors

A segmented labour market can be defined as the historical process whereby political-economic

forces encourage the division of the labour market into separate sub-markets or segments

distinguished by different labour market characteristics and behavioural rulesrdquo (Reich et al

1973359) They suggested that the labour market conditions can be better explained using the four

segmentation processes of primary and secondary markets segmentation within the primary sector

segmentation by race and segmentation by sex However among this categorisation only the first

the primary and secondary dichotomy of the dual labour market is discussed in-depth as it is the

most relevant to the researcherrsquos investigation

In the core sectors firms have monopoly power production is large scale extensive use is made of

capital-intensive methods of production and there is a strong trade union formation and

representation These establishments operate in national and international product markets

(Multinational Corporation) In contrast

It is in this context that the researcher investigated Shell Petroleum Development Company in

Nigeria and the changes in its employment strategies The company implemented various reforms in

the recent past which are consistent with the position of the dual labour market theory This

theoretical assumption is evident in the findings from this study which illuminate that there is a clear

discrimination in the character of core and secondary workers in Shell Petroleum Development

Company in Nigeria The secondaryperipheral workers are not strictly legal employees of Shell

Nigeria As a policy decision Shell does not employ temporary workers directly instead contractors

or agencies are responsible for the supply of these categories of workers Interestingly similar

occupational categories that exist within the core of Shell fall within the periphery These include

professional such as engineers geologists drilling engineers and lawyers (see Mordi amp Mmieh

2009)

74

The researcher also noticed further a race form of labour segmentation in the internal labour market

structure that exists within the firm Shell Nigeriarsquos core labour market pays indigenous and

expatriate workers very well and they enjoy career mobility and security of employment However

the researcher noted during the investigation that there were gross disparities between the terms and

conditions of core indigenous workers and core expatriate workers This position is also confirmed in

the study by Mordi amp Mmieh (2009) when they affirmed that lsquoa fresh indigenous graduate joining

the company in Nigeria is employed on job group 7 while his counterpart expatriate who joins on the

same day with the same qualification outside Nigeria is employed on job group 5 (a higher position

and remuneration)rsquo On confirmation the expatriate is automatically promoted to job group 4 while

there is no promotion to the next job group for his Nigerian counterpart The effect of this promotion

and discrimination is very obvious and observable in that as soon as the expatriate comes to Nigeria

on foreign assignment most often he becomes the boss of his Nigerian counterpartrdquo (PENGASSAN

2004 cited in Mordi amp Mmieh 2009)

The segmentation that exists in the labour market primarily reflects the nature of internal labour

markets (this is the labour market that exists within a firm) within which primary and secondary jobs

are found Internal labour markets can best be thought of as the type of labour market that exists

within an organisation At one extreme the internal and external labour market might be very

similar The structure of wages and the allocation of workers within the organisation are determined

simply by external market conditions and in this case the internal market is similar to what is

happening outside the organisation At the other extreme are organisations (usually large employers)

in which wages structures and employment policies are set apart from external labour market

conditions Such internal labour markets will often be highly structured and regulated and have an

employment system that confers significant advantages to those already employed in the organisation

ndash insiders ndash compared to outsiders This is because access to jobs within the firm is granted

preferentially even exclusively to existing members of the organisation via promotion along well-

defined lsquojob laddersrsquo often on the basis of seniority rather than productivity The outsider on the

other hand has access to only a limited number of low-level positions

75

34 The Classical and Neoclassical Theories of Employment and Labour Market

The classical theory approached the concept of labour markets from a political economy perspective

with its most famous proponents being Ricardo and Marx While Marx concentrated his analysis on

the labour market which made him develop his ideas on exploitation and the labour theory of value

Ricardo focussed exclusively on commodity markets (Mandel 1976) These concepts became the

cornerstone for classical economic theorising of labour markets The view of the classicists was that

in a capitalist society workers only have the capacity to work to exchange for other commodities

Their capacity to work is termed their labour power There is a demand for their labour power by

capitalists who combine labour power with their means of production in order manufacture

exchangeable commodities

Classical economists assumed the labour market was similar to the goods market in that price would

adjust to ensure that quantity demanded equalled quantity supplied When demand would increase

the price of labour (the wage rate) would also increase This would increase the quantity supplied

(the number of workers or hours worked) and the quantity demanded of labour Conversely a

decrease in the demand for labour would depress wages and the units of labour supplied would

decrease Marx posited that workers in a capitalist society only have the capacity to exchange for

other commodities which he termed their labour power The capitalist require that labour power

which they combine with their means of production in order to manufacture exchangeable

commodities

Marx argued that the market for labour must be viewed as operating from the same logic as the

markets for other commodities under the capitalist system and its value must be calculated in the

same manner as for other commodities Polanyi (1999 in Silver 2003) provided different but related

theoretical lenses through which labour power can be viewed he contended that labour is a lsquofictitious

commodityrsquo and any attempt to treat human beings as a commodity lsquolike any otherrsquo would

necessarily lead to deeply felt grievances and resistances Labour power is always available if

workers remain physically and mentally capable of doing their jobs and if there is a reproduction of

labour for future use

76

Mandel (1984) in his analysis of Marxrsquos idea of exploitation explained that in order to make a

profit the value of a workerrsquos labour power must be less than the amount of labour contributed by

that worker to produce a commodity for exchange on the market He contends that capitalism by its

nature implies that a capitalist class owns the means of production and the commodities produced

The implication is that capitalists as a class received more labour value than they exchange for with

wages

The classical theory of employment trends in the labour market analysis is premised on the Walrasian

general equilibrium theory in which price flexibility is the key factor in the correction of any labour

market disequilibrium (Oyebode 2004) In their view shortages or surplus of labour in the labour

market is dealt with through wage movement In Keynesrsquo analysis the classical view of wage

flexibility and its acceptance by labour is unacceptable Keynes assumed that workers would not be

willing to accept a wage cut to secure more employment even if they will accept a reduction in real

wage brought about by rising prices at constant money wage His weight of analysis rests on the level

of aggregate demand in the economy (Atkinson amp Meager 1986) His opinion was that full

employment will only be restricted through an increase in aggregate demand and not through the

classical prescription of failing money wages This is because Keynes believed wages to be inflexible

on the downward direction as workers through their unions will resist wage cuts Thus the

combined influence of union militancy workers obstinacy in resisting money wage cuts and the fact

that product price might fall in the same proportion with wage cuts thereby leaving real wages

unchanged might make classical prediction unrealistic Instead of relying on wage flexibility

Keynes recommended fiscal policy measures in the form of say government deficit budgeting spent

on public work This according to Keynes has the potential to increase aggregate demand and

hence remove the incidence of involuntary employment

The classical economist conceives unemployment as an aberration since it is believed that a well-

functioning labour market is self-regulating through the actions of the invisible forces of demand and

supply for labour According to Olurinola amp Fadayomi (2013) any unemployment beyond the

frictional type is therefore considered voluntary while any form of involuntary unemployment

arises from market imperfections like the legal minimum wage laws among several others They

further argue the theoretical and conceptual divergence between the classicists and the Keynesians

77

has resulted in the differences in policy prescription for reducing unemployment As noted by

Gordon (1976) Greenwald amp Stiglitz (1988) and Keynes (2006) these recommendations as

plausible as they might sound might be applicable in developed economies but their applicability of

solving or at least reducing unemployment in a developing economy such as Nigeria is very doubtful

The major contributions made by the neoclassical theorists to our understanding of labour market

reforms cannot be overemphasised Basically they perceived free markets as the most efficient ways

to ensure that capitalism benefits everyone based on the idea that free markets are intrinsically linked

with ideas of social justice They contend that in order for human beings to realise and maximise

their full wealth and potential societal institutions must be put in place that will permit people to

realise their maximum wealth (Clarke 1982 Roncaglia 2001) The neoclassical theorists argued

further that for these institutions and markets to function effectively all forms of discrimination

including racial and gender must be removed in labour markets The neoclassicists introduced

science and empirical analysis that was initially missing into the study of labour economics which

has helped in analysing and interpreting labour markets and other related issues such as

unemployment discrimination and underemployment in economic systems

The neoclassical labour market theory tends to assume the existence of a competitive labour market

that drives towards equilibrium where workers with the same skills and qualifications receive the

same level of remuneration termed the lsquoequilibrium wagersquo which will clear the market for a given

quality of labour (Sakamoto amp Chen 1991) The neoclassical view of the labour market is premised

on the notion that the quantity of work demanded by employers is equal to the quantity supplied by

the workers and consequently all workers in the same quality category are paid the equilibrium

wage ldquoThe equilibrium wage is equal to the revenue received by the product produced by the last

(ie marginal) workerrdquo (Sakamoto amp Chen 1991 295)

The theory proposed further that an employer who decides to pay below the equilibrium wage will

not be able to retain and attract qualified and competent workers and on the other hand Furthermore

the theory says that employers who attempt to pay above the equilibrium wage will not be able to

meet their costs pointing out that where the industry is competitive such an employer would be

driven out of business

78

Sorensen and Kalleberg (1981) in Sakamoto amp Chen (1991) noted that the most important

assumption of the neoclassical view is that of a market for labour similar in properties to those of a

competitive market for consumer goods However it has been observed that heterogeneous workers

complicate although not necessarily alter this basic neoclassical assumption that there is a single

arena that the employers act within to maximise their profit by paying as low a wage as they can for

the workersrsquo skills that they need The presumption is that employees paid more than their value can

be replaceable by intending workers who are willing to work at the wage rate that is equal to the

marginal productivity (Sakamoto amp Chen 1991)

The neoclassical lsquolabour as a commodityrsquo theory also readily comes to mind in this research despite

the fact that labour reformers and early pioneers of industrial relations rejected this theory Kaufman

(1999) declared that lsquothe machine which yields its services to man is itself a commodity and it is

only a means to an end while the labourer who part with labour is no longer a commodity in

civilised lands but is an end in himself for man is the beginning and termination of all economic

lifersquo Conclusively it can be said that classical and neoclassical economists have made important and

significant contributions to the ways in which we understand and perceive labour markets and the

reforms taking place therein

35 Contract Theory of Labour Markets

In Nigeria particularly in the oil and gas industry and multinational corporations the problem of

lsquocasualisationrsquo has made it impracticable for a long-term contract of employment to exist between the

employer and employees As noted by Okafor (2007) concerted efforts by union formations to

ensure that many of the workers in the periphery labour market are converted to core employees have

not been successful as employers and their associations have remained adamant insisting that they

have no such obligation towards this category of workers because they have no contracts with them

According to Nissim (1984) it was for these reasons that employers and employees enter into long-

term work relationships Under long-term work arrangements job security is enhanced continuity is

encouraged and employees might receive a wage in excess of their marginal revenue product in the

early part of employment period With human capital accumulating this pattern is often reversed

with time with wages and fringe benefits eventually tending to equate the marginal labour product

over the entire contract period Given the mutual benefits from long-term work relationships some

79

measure of wage inertia might be viewed as an indispensable element of labour market efficiency

Similarly search unemployment which is a normal feature of labour markets is essential to labour

market efficiency as it assists the optimal allocation of labour resources

Long-term work attachments tend to impart a rigid bias to money wages over business cycle in that

the behaviour of money wages differs from what would be observable in auction labour markets

Long-term work attachments also imply that relative wage positions remain broadly stable over the

cycle In contrast differentials between wages for skilled and unskilled wages tend to widen in a

downswing and narrow in an upswing reflecting the greater cyclical sensitivity of wages at the lower

end of the wage spectrum The optimal degree of labour market flexibility that is consistent with the

labour market efficiency changes when unexpected demand and supply shock occur upsetting the

framework of expectations incorporated into long-term work arrangements In such situations

employers might no longer find it profitable or feasible to fulfil previously established wage

contracts and related aspirations In contrast employees operating within the old framework of wage

determination might initially resist changes in contractual relationships thereby making the labour

market inflexible in the wave of shocks

Youths in Nigeria despite a high literacy rate of over 80 face difficulties in respect of their

integration into the labour market in terms of securing decent jobs in line with their previous

sanguine labour market expectations (Olurinola amp Fadayomi 2013) With this situation and the high

rate of unemployment workersrsquo bargaining power is weak and they are left with no option but to

accept the exploitative terms and conditions of the employers and unregulated labour market

Unlike in Nigeria in South Africa the Basic Conditions of Employment Act of 1998 clearly spells

out the laws and regulations that govern the terms and conditions of employment One distinctive

feature of the South African labour market is the observation enforcement and effectiveness of

labour laws and regulation and labour market institutions such as the bargaining councils and wage

boards Furthermore in sectors where workers are vulnerable the Department of Labour enacted

sectoral determinations that stipulate minimum wages Exemptions to such stipulations are only

through application to the Department of Labour As noted by Kingdom et al (2006) there are

serious sanctions for flouting the agreement of these institutions

80

36 Institutional Theory of Labour Market Flexibility

The concepts of labour market flexibility and institutional theory are well established within their

respective disciplines The majority of studies utilising institutional theory focus on private and

industrial organisations and usually study a range of organisational relational and population

characteristics

Institution is defined as the social entity that is characterised by a self-regulating nature Jepperson

(1991) and Lawrence et al (2002) define an institution as those social patterns that when chronically

reproduced owe their survival to a relatively self-activating social process The level of

institutionalisation depends on the extent of their diffusion and the strength of self-activating

mechanisms such as rewards and sanctions Institutional theory is currently useful in studying

institutions and organisations It is also useful in explaining both the persistence and homogeneity of

institutions such as labour markets and how they might change over time in terms of their character

In the context of studying labour market flexibility institutional theory could focus on explicating

how different cognitive normative and regulative forces embedded in institutional logics lead

institutions operating in different countries to converge on a standard set of processes and practices

Lewin et al (1992) were however of the opinion that state as an institution should abstain from

intervention in the labour market to allow market forces to work free from constrains Scott (1995

2001) considers institutions as consisting of cognitive normative and regulative structures and

activities providing stability and meaning to social behaviour and currently a vibrant method used to

study institutions and organisations

The contribution of institutional theory of labour market and flexibility can be seen from the recently

coined concept of lsquoflexicurityrsquo which gained importance in legislative and labour market policy

reform in the Netherlands and linked a number of previously separated areas of policy making such

as lsquoflexibilisationrsquo and deregulation of the labour market on the one hand and social security and the

concern for the negative consequences of flexible employment on the other hand

lsquoFlexicurityrsquo as an institutional policy is regarded as a trade-off or new balance between labour

market flexibility and increased security for workers especially those in precarious situations In this

way lsquoflexicurityrsquo is considered to be an implementation strategy for transitional labour markets

81

The neoliberal response to labour market failure has been to seek flexibility through strategies of

deregulations thereby making the labour market behave more like the commodity market in which

there is unfettered competition and price fluctuates in accordance with the power of demand and

supply


how different cognitive normative and regulative forces embedded in the institutional logic led

institutions to converge on a standard set of processes and practices The means by which the state

through national-level institutional frameworks affects organisational systems includes the legal and

industrial relations frameworks

The institutional perspectives also emphasise the central role of the actors It highlights that actorsrsquo

interpretation of environmental conditions are moderated by institutional logic which they defined as

the norms value and beliefs that structure the cognition of actors and provide a collective

understanding of how decisions are formulated It is in this context that the shifts in institutional logic

will influence which forces are considered important and how they can be responded to

Scott (1995) highlights the importance of the social and cultural context surrounding and supporting

organisational forms and identifies the central role of the state in exercising control over

organisations Campbell and Lindberg (1990) identified three means by which the state through

national-level institutional frameworks affects the organisational system Firstly they argue that the

state provides a lsquodistinctive configuration of organisationsrsquo that influence the shape and structure of

all organisations According to Beggs (1995) the degree of congruence between the normative

structures in organisations and society is considered to be of significant importance This is because

organisations compete not just for resources and customers but also for political power institutional

legitimacy and social and economic fitness

Secondly Campbell amp Lindberg (1990) Scott (1995) and Begg (1995) point out that the state

provides specific dispute resolution mechanisms for solving conflicts between and within

organisations In the Nigerian context this is done through the Industrial Arbitration Panel and the

82

National Industrial Court The government mainly for the resolution of industrial conflict set up

these institutional frameworks The state defines and enforces priority rights which entails the rules

by which the control of ownership and control of the means of production are determined

It is in this context that Beaumont amp Harris (1998) suggested that institutional arrangements are

relevant in the explanation for national differences or variations in certain key industrial relations or

economic phenomena This includes things such as the levels of trade union density strike activity

and wage inflation Therefore it could be argued that the role of state institutions in regulating

national labour markets has major consequences for variations and similarity in labour market

flexibility practices

One major criticism against the institutional approach is that its theory of wage determination

through the competitive labour market did not take into account the fact that many labour market are

not competitive and that the presence of non-competitive institutional elements such as the trade

unions into the economic analysis of labour markets has altered most of the outcomes of wage and

employment determination under pure theory (Fajana 1998) In the Nigerian oil sector where

collective bargaining co-exists with wage commissions appointed by the government the question

asked in view of the fact that the state is also a major employer of labour is how its involvement and

decisions can be favourable to labour Owoye (1994) using aggregate data examines the Nigerian

strike experience from 1950 through 1989 and explains the influence of the state on wage

determination the estimated results show that that unilateral wage determination and incomes

policies by the state significantly contribute to the increase in the frequency of strikes in Nigeria

This institutional theory typically focuses on the effects of social and industrial relations policies (see

Western amp Beckett 1999 Baker et al 2004) Therefore the roles of the state in the Nigerian Shell-

dominated sector can be best understood by using the institutional analysis of labour market

flexibility Furthermore institutional theory is best suitable to explain both the persistence and

homogeneity of institutions as well as how institutions might change over time in terms of their

character and potency as witnessed in Shell Nigeria (DiMaggio 1988)

83

38 Conclusion

The purpose of this chapter which the researcher hopes to have achieved has been to engage in

relevant theories in relation to labour market and give an explanation of their contributions to labour

market reforms The chapter gave an explanatory account of the Marxist theory in relation to labour

market regulation and capitalist social formation by explaining the meaning of capitalist compulsion

to accumulate wealth and the capitalistrsquos unquestionable thirst for surplus value extraction The

researcherrsquos opinion is that the way and manner that capitalism shifts from one mode of regulation is

a function of the crisis inherent therein The chapter highlighted the important contributions of the

Marxist to the ways we understand labour market reforms and examined how capitalism operates as

a mode of production by giving a detailed analysis and mode of the crisis inherent therein This

involved a discussion and explanation of regulation and regimes of accumulation It explained that

these modes of production have implications on the labour market and demonstrated that the crisis

embedded in capitalism was as a result of the global decline in profit and the new mode of regulation

was as a result of ameliorating the declining profit

The second half of the chapter examined the contribution of various other theories relevant to the

labour market such as the dual labour market theory the classical school and neoclassical school

theory contract theory of labour market and the institutional theory of wage determination It

explained the dual labour market to be into primary and secondary markets with the former paying

with possibilities of promotion job stability and better working conditions and the later having

unstable working patterns and low-paying jobs The researcher in the course of his investigation

also identified a race form of labour segmentation in the internal labour market structure within Shell

Nigeria The researcher admittedly agree that Shell Nigeriarsquos core labour market pays indigenous and

expatriate workers very well and that they enjoy career mobility and security of employment my

instigation revealed gross disparities between the terms and conditions of core indigenous workers

and core expatriate workers

The views and assumption of the classicists that the labour market was similar to the goods market

and that workers possess the capacity which is termed their labour power and the demand for the

labour power by the capitalists who combine it with their means of production was explained The

idea of the neoclassical theorists who basically perceived free markets as the efficient way to ensure

84

social justice and make capitalism beneficial to everyone as well as their scientific and empirical

contribution to the study of labour market was also brought to fore in this chapter

The chapter evaluated the contribution of institutional theory to labour market and flexibility by

regarding it as a trade-off or new balance between labour market flexibility and increased security for

atypical workers especially those in precarious situations The researcher explained the concept of

lsquoflexicurityrsquo as the neoliberal response to labour market failure which he traced to the Netherlands

where it gained importance in both legislative and labour market policy reforms as an institutional

policy

By engaging in all the above arguments this chapter has provided an explanatory framework for the

empirical evidence presented in the thesis Consequently it allows me to address the central purpose

of the thesis which is to examine the impact of labour market reforms on employment security in

Shell Nigeria

85

Chapter Four


ldquoWhen I find myself in the company of scientists I feel like a shabby curate who has strayed by

mistake into a drawing room full of dukerdquo WH Auden

41 Introduction

The purpose of undertaking this study is to understand the realities of the impacts of labour reforms

in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria From the beginning of the investigation

participants were classified into three groups the employees the management and government

officials Subsequently a detailed literature review was undertaken as presented in the earlier

Chapter Two Empirical data for this study was collected through guided interviews and the

questionnaire as attached in Appendices 1 2 and 3 This section draws attention to the relationship

between the researcher and the lsquosubjectsrsquo of research the research design including sampling and

the nature of the research questions

This chapter focuses on how the investigation of labour reforms was implemented in Shell As to

how the main arguments were tested and the sample of 304 respondents was obtained and the

characteristics of this sample a triangulation method utilising quantitative and qualitative techniques

was used in this study The researcher explained the appropriateness of the research method for the

investigation of labour reforms in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria and the

impacts on employment security

Sekeran (199210) stipulates clearly that lsquothe relationship between subjects and objects of research

have an impact on the research that is being conductedrsquo Therefore the relationship was closely

monitored during the research process so as not to affect the purpose of the research For example

the researcher had worked as a casual staff member for Shell in the past it was therefore important

to ensure that the sentiments he shared with the worker respondents did not cloud his objectivity

Secondly the researcher developed an interest in labour relations when he did a course in industrial

and labour relations during his undergraduate programme The researcher later joined the

employment of Afprint Nigeria Plc The researcher worked in the human resource department

86

performing the functions of industrial relations officer in the textile division of the multinational

company operating under the business name Chanrai Group Before this time the researcher had

also worked as a casual employee in the logistics department of Shell Petroleum Development

Company These two events developed the researcherrsquos interest to pursue a Masterrsquos Degree in

Industrial Relations and Personnel Management at the University of Lagos

The researcher was eventually employed in academia and seized the opportunity to embark on a PhD

programme in Industrial Organisational and Labour Studies (IOLS) at the University of KwaZulu-

Natal Although the researcherrsquos interest and subsequent research into labour reforms in Shell was

not planned it can also not be said to be accidental

42 The Relevance of Reviewing the Literature

The literature review provides extensive information about labour reforms and a greater

understanding of the concept of labour flexibility The literature survey and field research were the

primary and secondary sources respectively that were used to gather information that helped in the

investigation of the research questions that are relevant to the subject matter The researcher

embarked on an in-depth literature survey as indicated in Chapter Two before constructing the

questionnaire thus enabling the researcher to gain a better understanding of the concept of lsquolabour

reformsrsquo

It was through a thorough literature review that the researcher arrived at a theoretical and intellectual

foundation upon which the empirical study was built This foundation emanates from the argument

that the labour reforms implementation in Shell has impacts on employment security and there was

an indication that there exists a negative relationship between labour market reforms and

employment security linked to the on-going restructuring in the oil sector The theoretical and

intellectual foundation upon which this study was built enabled the researcher to formulate a reliable

and valid means of undertaking this investigation As a result the researcher was able to build a

solid foundation of the argument surrounding the discourse of labour reforms and their impacts on

employment security

87

The idea behind conducting a literature review was to ensure that no critical issues relating to labour

reforms were ignored In most research it is possible that some of the critical issues are never

brought out in the interviews either because the interviewees do not articulate them or are unaware

of their impact or because the issues seem so obvious to the interviewees that they are not stated If

there were issues that are not identified during the interviews but that influence the problem

critically then doing research without considering them would be an exercise in futility (Sekeran

199237) Such errors were avoided in this investigation of labour reforms

In order for the researcher to stay focussed on the topic under investigation the objectives of the

study are reiterated Within the context of labour reforms and their impacts on employment security

the objectives are to

Assess the impact of labour market reformsrsquo implementation on the workers of Shell Petroleum



sector in Nigeria


Company to implement labour market reforms in Nigeria

Investigate the impact of these labour market reforms on the size of the workforce working


Ascertain if these reforms were negotiated with labour formations before implementation and

Determine how this new form of work order has impacted on individual and household income

and livelihoods

43 The Research Approach

Researchers interested in behavioural and organisational problems can focus their enquiries in three

different directions these are generally called basic applied and evaluative research Although each

can be found under other names depending on the context within which they are used For example

basic research is often called pure and experimental research and applied research often appears

under terminology of policy research and action research Finally evaluation research is sometimes

referred to as assessment or appraisal research and even as social accounting (Miller amp Salkind

20023) The key research problem of this study if I may reiterate was to evaluate the impact of the

88

regime of labour reforms taking place at Shell in Nigeria on employment security of the workers it

is therefore an impact evaluation research

To address this problem the methodology for this study consists of the research design the study

population the sampling technique research instruments the research process methods of data

collection and data analysis

44 The Research Design

The research design is the complete scheme or programme of the research that expresses the

hypotheses their operational implications and the final analysis of data (Kerlinger 1986) It is the

link between the data that has been collected and the conclusion that is to be drawn in relation to the

questions raised for the purpose of the study Hussey amp Hussey (199754) define research design as

the overall approach to the research process from the theoretical underpinning to the collection and

analysis of the data Similarly Page amp Meyer (200041) provide a detailed description of research

design when they define it as a plan that the researcher uses to obtain participants and collect

information from the participants with the purpose of reaching conclusions about the research

problem

The research design selected must be able to answer the research question thereby serving the

purpose for which the research was undertaken The design to be used depended on the research

objective and data requirements in attaining the objectives design also dealt with how the study is

conducted and the procedures adopted to obtain answers to research questions and the test of

hypotheses Babbie amp Mouton (2001) Asika (2004) and Creswell (2009) opined that the research

design answered the research questions validly objectively accurately and economically Research

design is the glue that holds the research project together It is used to structure the research and

show how all of the major parts of the research project which include the samples or groups

measures treatments or methods of project or assignment work together to try to address the central

research questions (Trochim amp Donnelly 2007)

Good design must be able to control variances by maximising systemic variance and controlling

extraneous system variance it should produce data that proffers and provides an answer to the

89

research questions and test the research hypothesis Also a good research design should maintain

both external and internal validity For the purpose of this study the research design adopted is

empirical using the primary data through survey method and case research study

441 Population

According to Asika (1991 39) lsquoa population is made up of all conceivable elements subjects or

observations relating to a particular phenomenon of interest to the researcherrsquo It is the individual

elements or subjects that constitute the population Reaves (1992) observed that a population

consists of every member of a particular group that could be measured The study population for this

research consists of the five locations of Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria Reaves

(1992 356) defined the population as lsquothe entire group of objects people or events that a piece of

research is attempting to find out aboutrsquo (Reaves 1992356) Saxena (1995200) defined population

or universe as the collection or the aggregate (usually large) of individuals or the stability of

observations Huysamen (19972) defines a population as the total collection of individuals who

have attributes in common to which the research hypotheses refer Grinnel amp Williams (1990124)

define a population as the totality of persons or objects that a study is concerned with Lastly Kidder

amp Judd (1986) define the population as the aggregate of all the cases that conform to some

designated set of specifications

A survey was conducted among a sample of 304 respondents scientifically selected from the

population In essence the figure is fairly representative of the 20 thousand populations Kidder amp

Judd (1986) define a sample as a process of selecting some of the elements with the aim of finding

out something about the population from which they are taken Simon amp Burstein (1992) define a

sample as a collection of observations for which you have data with you from which you are going

to work Sekeran (1992) define it as a subject or sub-group of the population Sampling is used as a

process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population so that by studying the

properties or the characteristics of the sample of subjects the researcher would be able to generalise

the properties or characteristics of the population elements (Sekeran 1992369) The workers of Shell

Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria were interviewed

90

442 Sampling Design

In designing the sample the researcher opted to using a non-probability sampling approach The

approach if followed properly allows every element in the population to have an equal chance of

being included in the sample which is a fundamental core part of probability sampling In this

investigation sampling design encompasses a description of a population sample and the sampling

technique used in conducting the investigation

The need for sampling was emphasised by Saunders et al (2009) they argue that for some research

questions it is possible to collect data from the entire population if they are of a manageable size

However they warned researchers not to assume that a census would provide more useful and better

results than collecting data from a sample that represents the entire population They posited that

sampling is a valid alternative to census in the following situation

Similarly Asika (1991 39) gave rationale for drawing a sample from the population to drive home

his point he gave the following example According to Asika ldquoA population might be finite in

which case its size or extent is conceivable and estimable For example all Nigerians who make up

the population of Nigeria can be counted Therefore the population of Nigeria is finite and

conceivable On the other hand a population might be infinite that is to say a complete count of all

elements or subjects who make up that population eg all grains of sand in the world cannot

possibly be made A population might be finite and not countable All ants that inhabit the world

constitute a finite population that cannot possibly be countedrdquo He maintained that lsquowhether a

population is finite or infinite the process of drawing a sample from that population is arduous

expensive and time consumingrsquo (p39)

At first the researcher intended to utilise a probability sampling technique by filtering questions to

eliminate non-group members The idea behind the rationale was to enable the researcher to self-

administer questionnaires to a group as large as 5000 (employees employers and government

officials) If this method was utilised it would have enabled the researcher to minimise the generally

very poor level of returns and in the end the researcher would have been able to generalise the

results However due to the financial limitations associated with a large sample of respondents a

non-probability sampling technique known as purposive sampling was utilised in this project This

91

is because the project aims to investigate a particular group of people who have been affected by the

labour market reforms and the impact that the reforms has on the continuity of the job (purpose)

As such self-administered questionnaires and interviews were used to gather all relevant

information on the subject matter A total of 304 employees were selected from a population of 20

000 workers of Shell Petroleum Development Company in five locations across Nigeria The

respondents were drawn from different departments of Shell Petroleum Development Company All

the levels of organisational hierarchy including junior and senior employees are represented in the

sample

443 Sampling Technique

For the purpose of this study 304 employees were selected from a population of 20 000 workers of

Shell Petroleum Development Company in five locations across Nigeria The respondents were

drawn from different departments of Shell Petroleum Development Company All the levels of

organisational hierarchy which comprises 167 junior staff 87 middle and 48 senior employees and

an additional 10 management staff were represented in the sample

For the researcher to get a sample of 304 respondents he visited the areas and made arrangements

with the officials of the company and union formations In selecting the sample the researcher used

a non-probability sampling technique known as purposive sampling This is because the project aims

to investigate a particular group of people who have been affected by the labour market reforms A

project of this nature requires a wide range of opinions on the subject matter and this was achieved

through the administration of questionnaires As such self-administered questionnaires and guided

interviews were used to gather all relevant information on the subject matter

45 Data Collection Methods

The word lsquomethodrsquo in this inquiry is used to refer to ways in which evidence is obtained and

manipulated or more conventionally to techniques of data collection and analysis (Blaikie 2000)

Having reviewed numerous happening nationally and locally in the context of multinational oil

companies and their workers the researcher came to realise that the hypothesis under investigation

in this study was observable The following two data collection techniques were used

92

Questionnaire (self-administered) and

Interviews with management staff of Shell Nigeria and government officials

46 Data Analysis Techniques

461 Qualitative Data Analysis Technique

Qualitative studies involve extensive fieldwork whereby the researcher goes to where the cases are

located and obtains information on them in their natural setting In this way the researcher does not

attempt to manipulate any aspect of the situation being studied but takes it as it is The researchers

use their experiences and insights to design a study and interpret the findings (Sekeran 199237) In

a qualitative study the interviewer might have a suggested set of questions but asks them as the

situation dictates Based on the response to one question the interviewer asks another question

The use of qualitative methods allowed the researcher to elaborate on interpretations of phenomena

without depending on numerical measurements (Zikmund amp Babin 2013132) The purpose of using

qualitative research was to explore true inner meanings and insights of employers and employers

with regards to the subject matter Qualitative research is an attempt to explore and describe social

phenomena about which little is presumed a priori and it also interprets and describes these

phenomena in terms of their meaning and helps to make sense of these meanings (Giacomini 2001)

Qualitative research provides a means through which a researcher can judge the effectiveness of

particular policies practices and innovations It is therefore not strange that the researcher chose to

adopt a qualitative approach in his study since he is conducting an impact evaluation into the labour

reforms taking place in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria

A great deal of information is always obtained from the responses gathered from the interview

questions since qualitative studies tend to be descriptive in their nature and to make sense out of

them might be difficult During the interviews the researcher records information accurately writes

clearly divides from important details and draws appropriate conclusions from information

(OrsquoSullivan amp Rassel 1999) This is the main qualitative data analysis approach used by the

researcher in this study This research uses qualitative data analysis techniques to analyse data

93

The research is aimed at establishing the correlation between labour market reforms and

employment security in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria Data collected was

entered into qualitative analysis computer programming viz computer-assisted qualitative data

analysis NVIVO The raw data obtained was coded and organised into conceptual categories to

create themes or concepts this simplified the data and also made it more organised The organisation

of the data into themes was done taking into consideration the objective the study aims to achieve

Responses from the interview of 10 officials in the Ministry of Employment Labour and

Productivity form the data and were imputed in NVIVO for analysis

462 Quantitative Data Analysis Technique

The data generated through self-administered questionnaires was coded using SPSS Version 21 and

subsequently cleaned This was to enable the researcher to be able to test the hypothesised causal

relations between quantified variables which include statistically quantitative variables that are

countable and can also be categorised (also see Giacomini 2001) As noted by Giacomini (2001)

quantitative research questions require variables that describe natural phenomena coupled with a

belief that these variables exist and can be measured objectively Secondly they require a belief that

causal laws govern the behaviour of the variables Thirdly they need a testable (falsifiable)

hypothesis about a statistical relation between the variables

4621 Descriptive Statistics

In this study the descriptive statistics analysed data and permitted the researcher to meaningfully

describe a set of figures with a small number of indices If such indices are calculated for a sample

drawn from a population they are referred as parameters (Gay amp Diehl 1992462) The descriptive

statistics were used to categorise and describe the respondentsrsquo demographic characteristics

According to httpwwwsocialresearchmethodsnet descriptive statistics are used to describe the

basic features of the data in a study They provide simple summaries about the sample and the

measures Together with simple graphics analysis they form the basis of virtually every quantitative

analysis of data

94

4622 Frequency and Percentages

Frequency and percentages were utilised as the descriptive statistics in the study (see Chapter Five)

According to Cozby (198964) a frequency indicates the number of subjects who receive each

possible score on a variable One of the most common ways to describe a single variable is with a

frequency distribution However a frequency also refers to the number of times various sub-

categories of a certain phenomenon occur from which the percentage of the occurrence of the sub-

categories can be easily calculated (Sekeran 1992259) According to Allen amp Meyer (1996883) a

percentage is defined as a rate or proportion percent According to OrsquoSullivan amp Rassel (1999330)

a percent reports the number of units as a proportion of 100 Frequency and percentages were used to

explain the following characteristics of the biographical data in this study which are age gender

marital status income department and educational qualifications

The bar graphs and circlepie graphs are also used to present percentages from the questionnaire

responses Bar graphs are a particularly effective and simple way of presenting data According to

OrsquoSullivan amp Rassel (1999324) a bar graph shows the variable along one axis and the frequency of

cases along the other and the bars in the bar graph should be of the same width for all categories

Bar graphs are used to present percentage distributions for variables

A circle graph also called a pie chart is a representation of a complete circle indicating a quantity

that is sliced into a number of wedges This graph conveys what population of the whole is

accounted for by each component and facilitates visual comparisons among parts of the whole The

sizes of the lsquopiece of piersquo reflect the proportions listed for each piece (OrsquoSullivan amp Rassel

1999324) Finally the circle represents 100 percent of the quantity of the resource of the other

factor displayed

4623 Inferential Statistics

The inferential statistics used in this inquiry are chi-square Goodness of Fit and Models of

Frequency Tables According to Gay amp Diehl (1992496) inferential statistics are concerned with

determining how likely it is that results based on samples are the same results that would have been

obtained for the entire population Sekeran (1992259) outlined that these types of statistics help the

researcher when heshe wants to know how the variables relate to each other when there are

95

differences between two or more groups and the like Models of Frequency Tables assisted the

researcher in analysing the relationship between independent and dependent variables ie between

defined problems and factors contributing to those problems As far as correlation is concerned in

probability theory and statistics correlation also called correlation coefficient indicates the strength

and direction of a linear relationship between two random variables

(httpenwikipediaorgwikiCorrelation)

47 Research Propositions and Questions

One is not in doubt that the flexibility trend is a global tendency informed by globalisation and

neoliberal ideologies Admittedly it is a relatively recent development in the third world nations

when compared with Europe and the United States In Shell Petroleum Development Company in

Nigeria labour reforms such as outsourcing part-time lsquocasualisationrsquo fixed-term jobs and temporary

jobs have been implemented and employment security is being eroded

The key questions to be addressed in this study are as follows



How have the labour market reforms affected employment security and benefits of workers in

Shell Petroleum Development Company




How have these labour market reforms ignited worker-organised union and community

resistance in Nigeria

In trying to provide adequate answers to the above research questions the researcher opted to use a

case study of Shell Petroleum Development Company the biggest multinational oil company in

Nigeria

48 Case Study as a Strategic Methodology

Case studies as a form of research strategy focus on understanding the dynamics present within a

single organisation (Eisenhardt 1989) A number of definitions and understandings of what a case

96

study is have been proposed Bromley (1990) defines a case study as a systematic enquiry into an

event or a set of events that aims to describe and explain a phenomenon of interest to the researcher

Yin (2003) contends that case study research investigates the phenomenon within its real-life context

and uses prior theoretical propositions to guide the processes of data collection and analysis This

method of research permits the researcher to conduct a systematic in-depth investigation into a

particular instance in its context in order to generate knowledge

Although used loosely even among seasoned researchers the nature of case research can be made

clearer when adopting a realist epistemology (Easton 1995) Suering (2008) aptly defined case study

as an empirical investigation that questions a contemporary phenomenon and context that are not

clearly evident It is a better strategy when the researcherrsquos intention is to know lsquohowrsquo and lsquowhyrsquo

when the investigator cannot control the events and when the research is centred on a contemporary

phenomenon within a real-life context (Yin 2003) In a similar vein Stake in Baxter amp Jack (2008)

used different terms to describe a variety of case studies as intrinsic instrumental or collective

Below are the definitions and different typologies of case studies identified by them

Yin (2003) further contends that the type of case study to be used by a researcher depends on the

existence of three conditions which are

The research questions posed and the propositions made

The degree of control the researcher has over actual behavioural events and

The degree focus on contemporary as opposed to historical events

Although there is no best realist research design case studies are in most cases preferred and

remain a qualitative research methodology According to Noor (2008) the choice of the method to

be used depends on the nature of the problem It is widely believed that case studies are widely

useful research methodology in the realms of social sciences because they are down to earth and

attention holding at the same time they have been criticised as an unsuitable basis for generalisation

(Stake 1978) Yin (1981) in his analysis of the crisis of case studies argues that a common

misconception of case studies is that they are solely the result of ethnographies or of participant

observation when numerous case studies have been done without necessarily using these methods

he opined that case studies do not imply the use of particular data collection method and that case

97

studies can be done using either quantitative or qualitative evidence and such evidence may come

from field work archival records verbal reports observation or any combination of these

Yin (2003) contends and argued for instances when case study design should be considered to

include when the focus of the study is to answer lsquowhyrsquo and lsquohowrsquo questions the researcher cannot

manipulate the behaviour of those involved in the study the researcher intends to cover contextual

conditions that are considered relevant to the phenomenon under study or when the boundaries are

unclear between the boundaries and the context Similarly Eisenhardt (1989) defined the case study

as a research strategy that focuses on understanding the dynamics present with a single setting he

gave examples of early case study research to include Allisonrsquos study of the Cuban missile crisis

(1971) and Pettigrewrsquos research on decision-making at a British retailer He observed that case

studies can be done using either single or multiple cases

481 Single and Multiple Case Studies

While it is important to know the case and specific type to be conducted consideration must be

given to the prudence of conducting a single case study or if a better understanding of the

phenomenon can be gained by conducting a multiple case study (Baxter amp Jack 2008) Yin (2003)

opined that some field in the social sciences such as politics and anthropology tend to equate

multiple case studies with comparative studies and consider it to be a different methodology from a

single case study The truth here however is that multiple case studies might look similar to

comparative research but they are not the same

According to Baxter amp Jack (2008) multiple case studies allow the researcher to analyse each

setting and across settings While a holistic or single case study with embedded units only allows the

researcher to understand one unique case they argue that if a study contains more than a single

class then a multiple case study is required They posed the question what is the difference between

a holistic or single case study with embedded units and a multiple case study Baxter amp Jackrsquos

(2008550) answer is ldquoThe simple answer is that the context is different for each of the casesrdquo

When the intention of the researcher is to look at the same issue but the researcher is intrigued by

different decisions Baxter and Jack recommend a single case study with embedded units However

they warned about the pitfalls that novice researchers adopting this method are likely to fall into

98

which is ldquoThey analyse at the individual subunit level and fail to return to the global issues they

initially set out to addressrdquo (Baxter amp Jack 2008 550)

The researcher chose the single case study over the multiple case studies for this research because it

is insightful from a single situation that can be generalised The concentration on one organisation

(case study) allowed the researcher the opportunity to do an in-depth investigation

482 Strengths and Weaknesses of Case Studies

Foundational scholars such as Yin (1999 2003) Stake (2005 2008) and Merriam (1995) contends

that case studies are a unique and distinctive form of empirical enquiry The strengths of case studies

lie in the fact that they are comparatively flexible and emphasise exploration rather than prescription

or prediction They allow an investigator to begin his research with broad questions and try different

methods in order to narrow the focus of the experiment As for Noor (2008) case studies lay

emphasis on context and specialise in lsquodeep datarsquo or thick description they have a powerful and

emotional impact on the readers and give the investigator a holistic view of a certain phenomenon or

events

This is not to imply that case studies do not have their weaknesses among them are that they lack

scientific rigour and issues of generalisation are not addressed (Noor 2008) Case studies are also

inherently subjective and can be stereotyped as the weak sibling among social science research

methods As Yin (1989) contends ldquoInvestigators who do case studies are often regarded as having

deviated from their academic disciplines and their investigation as having insufficient precision

objectivity and rigorrdquo Another weakness of case studies is that they are time consuming as it takes

time to include different research methods in order to get an inclusive case and requires high

investment as it involves learning more about the subject being tested since it emphasises lsquodeep

datarsquo Finally a common complaint about case studies is that investigators change direction during

the course of the study unaware that their original research design was inadequate for the revised

investigation

With this privileged information in the mind it guided the researcher against the shortcomings and

weaknesses whilst trying to maintain the purpose of objectivity and validity of his research

99

49 Research Instrument

The two research instruments used for collection of data were the questionnaires and structured

interviews Following are the questionnaires and interview

491 Questionnaire

For the purpose of this study a questionnaire with a combination of structured semi-structured and

open-ended questions was administered to assess peoplersquos expectations and perceptions of existing

status quo The questionnaire was selected as being the most suitable method of data collecting from

respondents The selection of a questionnaire as a measuring instrument was informed by the aims

and objectives of the inquiry which was to answer questions propose solutions to problems and

develop theories of interest to labour reforms and their impacts on employment security

The primary instrument for data collection for the purpose of this study is the structured

questionnaire There are two types of questionnaires devised for this research Questionnaires

(Appendix A and B) were used to collect data from participants the questionnaire in Appendix A

was used to collect data from employees and the questionnaire in Appendix B was used to collect

data from management (employer) The employeesrsquo questionnaire is divided into three sections (A

B and C) Section A is concerned with demographic data of the respondents and it includes questions

such as age sex marital status and income Section B contains educational information and skill

possession Section C contains questions on the implementation of labour reforms (flexibility trends)

taking place in Shell Nigeria

On the other hand the employerrsquos questionnaire contained questions that concerned the types of

labour reforms implemented by Shell reasons for the implementation of such reform policies the

beneficiaries of the policy and the challenges faced in the implementation of the labour reforms

Rule amp Vaughn (2011 66) define questionnaires as printed sets of field questions to which

respondents respond on their own (self-administered) or in the presence of the researcher

(investigator administered) Questions raised in a questionnaire can be either open-ended or close-

ended Open-ended and close-ended questions differ in characteristics especially with regards to the

role of the respondent when answering the questions Close-ended questions limit the participantrsquos

100

responses to the offered set of alternatives Open-ended questions allow the respondents to express

their opinions without limits andor the influence of the researcher (Foddy 1993127) A good

questionnaire is one that consists of both types of questions Furthermore a questionnaire is a self-

reporting instrument that can be used to gather specific information with regard to variables that

interest the researcher (Wolf 1997422) A questionnaire is a quantitative data collection tool that is

normally distributed to a large number of participants (Leedy amp Ormrod 2001 2002-2004 Gray

2004207 and De Vos et al 2005167)

The questionnaire administered for this study was designed by the researcher based on the research

questions stated above The respondents were drawn from different departments of Shell Petroleum

Development Company All the levels of organisational hierarchy including junior and senior

employees shall be represented in the sample Questionnaires were also administered to a total of 10

management staff at Shell Petroleum Development Company All these respondents shall be

included in order to have a cross-section of all shades of opinions The respondents to the

questionnaires are well informed on the topic of the research this is because they are either

responsible for the implementation (employer) of the reforms or they are directly affected by the

outcome of the implementation (employees)

The questionnaires were personally administered to the subjects of the research A questionnaire is

defined as lsquoa pre-formulated written set of questions to which respondents record their answers

usually within rather closely defined alternativesrsquo (Sekeran 1992200) Sekeran regards it as an

efficient data collection mechanism when the researcher knows exactly what is required and how to

measure the variable of interest According to OrsquoSullivan amp Rassel (1999207) questionnaire

writing involves deciding what variables to measure and how to accurately and adequately measure

the variables For the researcher to be able to maximise responses the researcher used two types of

questions The two types of questions are the open-ended questions and the closed or fixed

alternative questions

Open-ended questions allow respondents to present their answers freely in their own words without

limitations imposed by the interviewer or by phrasing of the question OrsquoSullivan amp Rassel

(1999210) define open-ended questions as those questions that allow the respondent to answer in his

101

or her own words Haralambos (1985511) defines open-ended questions as those questions that

allow the respondent to compose hisher own answer rather than choosing between a number of

given answers This might provide more valid data since he can say what he means in his own

words As a result all participants in this study had an opportunity to express themselves The

problem encountered by the researcher with the open-ended questions was the difficulty in

classifying and quantifying them

The closed or fixed alternative questions were also considered to be a suitable form of data

collection The fixed alternative question limits a personrsquos answer to a fixed number of alternatives

Haralambos (1985511) defines closed or fixed choice questions as those questions that require a

choice between a number of given answers OrsquoSullivan amp Rassel (1999210) also define closed-

ended questions as those questions that ask the respondents to choose from a list of responses These

types of questions do not allow the respondent to qualify and develop hisher answer To a greater

extent the closed or fixed choice questions used by the researcher limited the respondentsrsquo responses

in this study

4911 Questionnaire Intensity

Empirical evidence shows that while many people might enjoy the attention and stimulation of

being interviewed others might consider it a nuisance particularly if the interview comes at a time

when they are tired pre-occupied or uncomfortable In light of that the researcher limited the length

of the questionnaire To control accommodate and deal with the issue of interview schedule

intensity the researcher interviewed both the employers and employees during the mornings those

who could not readily respond to the questions because of the schedule of duty suggested lunch time

By doing so the problems associated with the questionnaire intensity were successfully controlled

4912 Reliability of the Measuring Instrument

Many scholars of quantitative research methodology have variously defined reliability and validity

looking at it from different perspectives (Golafshani 2003) The notions of validity and reliability

according to Merriam (199552) lsquomust be addressed from the perspective of the paradigm out of

which the study has been conductedrsquo Bashir et al (2008) conceived reliability and validity as

germane to the discussion of qualitative research and they remain appropriate concepts for attaining

102

rigor in quantitative research They see reliability and validity as terms that lsquoare conceptualised as

trustworthiness rigor and quality in qualitative paradigm and that can be achieved by eliminating

bias and increasing the researcherrsquos truthfulness of a proposition about some social phenomenon

using triangulationrsquo (p43)

4913 Content Validity

The research instrument of this study (questionnaire) comprises three sections namely (a) the

demographic details information (age gender marital status income and department) (b) the

educational information and type of skill possessed and (c) implementation of labour reforms

(flexibility trends) The employeesrsquo questionnaire consisted of 24 questions or items All items were

grouped according to the objectives of the study which are to scientifically explain the

implementation and determine whether or not these reforms have impacts on the employment

security in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria

The employersrsquo questionnaire consists of 10 questions or tap items As part of attaining content

validity employersrsquo questions were also carefully designed around the above-stated objectives

Herneson et al (1987) define content validity as the representativeness of the sample of questions

included in the instrument Both sets of questions were constructed around labour

Research instruments are devices used for the purpose of obtaining information relevant to the

research project (Wilkinson amp Birmingham 2003) They posited that there are many alternatives to

choose from and there is no definite method of conducting social research Additionally they

maintained that there is no single research method or instrument that is inherently superior to

another Data is transient and ever changing when data is critically and analytically examined we

gain new insights and we also discern new problems that demand further research (Leedy amp Omrod

2001) The methods used by the researcher for the purpose of this study are three types these

involve a series of in-depth interviews which were backed up by secondary and primary data The

primary data involves using structured questionnaire and interview schedules

103

4914 Piloting the Questionnaire

In order to ascertain if the questionnaire would have achieved its intended objective a pilot study

was conducted amongst 10 employees and two employers Cozby (1989113) defines a pilot study as

a mini experiment in which the investigator tested the procedures with a small number of subjects

The results of the pilot study are not included in the actual data analysis By piloting the

questionnaire the researcher was able to ascertain which questions were to be omitted and what

changes were to be made in the final draft By conducting a pilot study the researcher was also able

to gauge if the subjects would understand the instructions and if there were any corrections to be

done before the full scale inquiry was conducted The other reason for the researcher conducting a

pilot study was to determine the validity and reliability of the questionnaire as a measuring

instrument In the end the responses generated from the pilot study confirmed that the questionnaire

was indeed a useful instrument for the inquiry

492 Interview

Interviewing is one of the most frequently employed qualitative methods Indeed the term

lsquoqualitative methodsrsquo commonly denotes data collection techniques based on various types of

conversations between researchers and respondents (Seale 1999) Crouch amp McKenzie (2006)

argued that the one-to-one interview is arguably the primary form that is used in many research

settings and can be quite variable in style such as duration the role of the interviewer and the degree

of structure of the conversation that constitutes the interview

Research based on interviews often seeks to penetrate social life beyond appearance and manifest

meanings According to Schoenberger (1991) interviewing is an obtrusive method which elicits the

statements to be analysed This is so even where respondents are encouraged to freely lsquotell their

storyrsquo because that story might not have been told or told in a particular way without the

interviewerrsquos intervention both through the initial prompt and subsequently throughout the course of

the interview (Crouch amp McKenzie 2006) It is for this reason that the literature on interviewing

contains extensive discussions of problems associated with the interactive aspect of the interviewing

process amongst which are interviewer bias variability of rapport and especially from an empiricist

perspective validity issues relating to the interpretation of the interview material However Weiss

(1995) observed that there are also much less frequently mentioned advantages in interviewer-

104

interviewee interaction According to him in an interview the researcherrsquos discretion with respect to

the conduct of the interview is part of an open-ended mode of inquiry that can produce great richness

of material if the researcher is responsive to cues as they occur in the course of the interview

Furthermore without the constraint of a pre-determined grid of specific questions or issues to be

discussed the very scope of the inquiry can broaden or even shift in response to the emergent

interview material Worth noting are the psychological benefits respondents might obtain from the

opportunity to lsquotell their storyrsquo to a most attentive listener

410 Sources for Data Collection

In the course of this study the researcher sourced his information from both primary and secondary

sources to identify and evaluate the labour reforms strategies utilised by Shell management and the

impacts of such reforms on employment security in its Nigerian subsidiary

4101 Primary Sources

The primary sources used in this investigation as earlier explained are the questionnaire (self-

administered) and interviews with government officials

A primary source refers to a document or record containing first-hand information or original data on

a topic It could also imply a work created by a person who directly experienced an event (see

Charmaz 2014 Carlson et al 2011 and Hertzum et al 2002)

4102 Secondary Sources

A secondary source of data collection is one step removed from the original event or experience It is

a source that provides criticism or interpretation of a primary source (Carlson et al 2011) It refers to

any published or unpublished work that is one step removed from the original source usually

describing summarising analysing and evaluating and derived from or based on primary source

materials (Hertzum et al 2002) The secondary sources used in this investigation include Shellrsquos

policy documents letters of employment from core and segregated workers annual reports

corporate journals collective agreements memoranda communiqueacute and government publications

The aim of using these types of documentary evidence is to minimise overtly relying on a single data

source which might have implications on the objectivity and validity of the research outcome One

of the limitations envisaged in this research is a situation where management of Shell was not

105

willing to grant access and co-operate with the researcher This was overcome by using the trade

union organisation as a mouthpiece in requesting access to the workplace The biggest challenge that

the researcher had to overcome was to ensure that respondentsrsquo identities remained anonymous

411 Limitations of the Research

The ability of a researcher to obtain both primary and secondary data was predicated on accessibility

to appropriate sources and many student researchers want to embark on their research immediately

they have identified a topical area of interest forgetting that organisation groups or individuals

might be unwilling to co-operate because of the time and resources involved (Saunders et al 2009)

The response to my requests for co-operation and access to my case study was not initially

favourable as it sounded uninteresting to the organisation and its representative This attitude might

be due to a number of reasons such as

The research topic might have looked so sensitive that the company might not want a study

conducted into it

The organisation might be concerned about the confidential nature of the information that I

might require them to provide to me in the course of the research and

The fear that business secrets of the organisation might be divulged to the competitors with

consequent implications on the profitability of the firm

The researcher was however able to convince the organisation that ethical research values would be

strictly followed before they would grant me a gatekeeperrsquos letter and access to the company but on

two strict conditions that the organisation would not be financially committed to the research and

that a copy of the thesis when completed would be made available to the organisation

My PhD programme is a self-sponsored effort therefore the financial implication of conducting this

study lies solely on me I had no doubts that I was going to encounter some financial constraints as

the study covers the five locations where Shell operations are taking place in Nigeria

106

412 Ethical Issues and Considerations

The biggest ethical challenge that the researcher encountered were security full disclosure and

limitation of information individual access and openness This was overcome by ensuring that

respondentsrsquo identities remained anonymous There was full disclosure to the subjects as regards to

the confidentiality of information obtained The data obtained was confidentially maintained by

storing it in a secured location that minimises the situation of disclosure of sensitive personal

information and preventing modification and unauthorised access The reasons specific and

legitimate of embarking on this study were explained to the subjects which enabled them to make

an informed decision as to whether or not to participate in this research (Cresswell 2009)

The researcher made respondents and interviewees aware that actual names were not going be used

in this project and during my conversation with the interviewees I sought to know the condition

under which they wanted the interview conducted where they were of the opinion that the names

and positions should not be mentioned I strictly followed such opinions and where participants

wanted the interview conducted off the record the discussion took place without the tape recorder

413 Conclusion

This chapter deliberates on the rigorous methodologies used in the study The objectives of the study

were reiterated so as to show the synergy with the research method used It explains why the

questionnaire was used to conduct the investigation The data collected improved the researcherrsquos

knowledge of the segmented workforce in Shell Nigeria and the challenges facing these categories of

workers The sampling design and the technique used to collect data are further elaborated upon

Focus is placed on the importance of using the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods

in data analysis The researcher explained and justified why he opted to use a non-probability

sampling approach ndash so every element in the population has an equal chance of being included in the

sample if followed properly The key questions to be addressed in this investigation were reiterated

in an attempt to provide adequate answers to them The researcherrsquos reasons for using the single case

study over the multiple case studies and why he considered it to be the most appropriate form of

research design for this thesis were justified by highlighting its merit and demerits The researcherrsquos

reasons for choosing Shell Petroleum Development Company for his investigation were also

justified in this chapter

107

The researcher went further to explain the concepts of validity and reliability by highlighting how

important and relevant it is in both quantitative and qualitative paradigms The limitations associated

with the use of qualitative and quantitative methods were also discussed in detail The researcher

then focussed on how the method allowed him to test the hypotheses and come out with the resultant

appropriate conclusions

Finally this chapter lays the foundation for Chapter Five in which the results are presented and

analysed in detail The research design and methodology used in the study helped the research meet

the objectives and answer the research questions on labour reforms and their impact on employment


108

Chapter Five

Analysis of Empirical Results

51 Introduction

The results of the data generated through rigorous and extensive interviews with respondents are

presented in detail in this chapter The process culminated in a self-administered questionnaire

among respondents from 150213 to 310913 The questionnaire was self-administered at Shell

Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria Two sets of questionnaires were utilised one from the

employees (see Appendix 1) and the other from the employers (see Appendix 2) Furthermore

interviews were also conducted with government officials using an interview schedule (see Appendix

3)

It took the researcher approximately three months to effectively deal with the gate-keeping syndrome

and be able to gain proper access to Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria In

conducting interviews with the Ministry of Labour officials the researcher was assisted by a friend

who works in the Ministry of Labour A sound relationship existed between the researcher and the

participants of the study This relationship meant the participants were prepared to make their

contribution to this milestone intellectual journey

52 Biographical Data of Respondents

The tables depicted show the demographic features of the respondents The demographic details of

respondents included the following independent variables age gender marital status income

department educational qualification and skills possessed In analysing data the characteristics of

the sample are depicted using tables and pie charts The tables offer insights into the socio-

demographic characteristics of the respondents of this study showing the socio-demographic

features and information of the respondents while charts represent a graphical presentation

109

Table 1 Age of Respondents

Age Frequency Percentage

18- 27 100 329

28-37 61 201

38-37 90 296

48-57 47 155

58+ 6 2

Total 304 100

The above statistics reveal that 100 (329) of the respondents are between the ages of 18 and 27

the age 38 to 47 bracket accounts for 90 (296) of the respondents 61 (201) are those within the

age bracket of 28 to 37 those who are between 48 and 57 years of age are 47 (155) and the least

number of respondents 6 (2) are those above 58 years An interesting statistical finding is that

workers who are between 18 and 37 years account for 826 of the sampled population This reflects

the youthful nature of the Shell Petroleum Development Company labour force and the volatile

nature of the working conditions at Shell Petroleum Development Company as younger workers are

more susceptible to exploitation and demeaning working conditions

Table 2 Gender of Respondents

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 138 455

Female 166 546

Total 304 100

The age distribution of respondents clearly reflects that the majority 166 (546) are female and

138 (454) are male There is no significant statistical difference between female and male

respondents Considering the patriarchal nature of the Nigerian society and the type of company

under investigation one would have expected a wide gap in employment trends between male and

female participants However this points to the fact that Shell Petroleum Development Company is

110

far ahead in implementing redress measures by ensuring women are fairly represented in their

employment profile

Table 3 Marital Status of Respondents

Marital Status Frequency Percentage

Single 106 349

Married 171 563

Divorced 5 16

Widow 4 13

Separated 18 59

Total 304 100

At Shell Petroleum Development Company the majority of respondents 171 (563) are those who

are married followed by 106 (3495) who are single separated respondents account for 18 (59)

of the sample 5 (16) are divorced and the least number of respondents 4 (13) are those who

are widowed

Table 4 Income Distribution of Respondents

Income Frequency Percentage

N18000 - N50000 27 89

N51000- N100000 76 250

N101000- N150000 55 181

N151000- N200000 92 303

N201000- N300000 34 112

N301000 + 20 66

Total 304 100

A total of 76 (25) employees at Shell Petroleum Development Company still earn between N51

000 and N100 000 and 55 (181) earn between N101 000 and N150 000 The large proportion of

employees 92 (303) at Shell Petroleum Development Company earn between N151 000 and

111

N200 000 A large number of respondents 34 (112) earn between N201 000 and N300 000 The

income distribution levels further denote that the least number of respondents 27 (89) and 20

(66) are those who earned between N18 000 and N50 000 and N18 000 and N301 000

Table 5 Departments of Respondents

Department Frequency Percentage

Admin 60 197

Marketing 46 151

Finance 18 59

Human Resources Management 54 178

Accounts 22 72

Procurement 8 26

Legal 7 23

Engineering 80 263

Logistics 5 16

Security 4 13

Total 304 100

Most respondents 80 (263) interviewed during the fieldwork research visit are employed in the

engineering department A significant proportion 60 (197) is also employed in administration

followed by human resources management with 54 (178) marketing department with 46 (151)

accounting department with 22 (72) finance with 18 (59) procurement with 8 (26) legal

department with 7 (23) logistics with 5 (16) and security accounts for 4 (13) Considering

the nature of the work undertaken at Shell Petroleum Development Company one is not surprised

that engineering respondents constitute the majority of the sampled population

112

Table 6 Educational Status of Respondents

The educational qualifications of respondents reveals that the majority of respondents 256 (845)

are those with tertiary qualification followed by matriculation with 28 (92) and the least number

of respondents 19 (63) are those with secondary education Both Matric and secondary education

account for only 47 (155) of the sampled population These statistics speak to the fact that Shell

Petroleum Development Company is more biased towards employees who have attained higher

levels of qualifications This did not come as a surprise in view of the nature of the company under

investigation

Table 7 Types of Skills Possessed

Skills Possessed Frequency Percentage

Administrative 47 176

Marketing 38 142

Electrical 28 105

Accounting 27 101

Technical 21 79

Analytical and Design 34 127

Conceptual and Interpersonal 20 75

Industrial Relations 17 64

Human Resources 5 19

Mechanical 9 34

Legal Skills 7 26

Managerial 2 07

Budgeting 8 30

Educational Level Frequency Percentage

Secondary 19 63

Matriculation 28 92

Tertiary 256 845

Total 303 100

113

Security 4 15

Total 267 100

The majority of respondents 47 (176) possess administrative skills 38 (142) have marketing

skills 34 (127) design skills 28 (105) electrical skills 27 (101) accounting skills 21 (79)

technical skills 20 (75) conceptual and interpersonal skills 17 (64) industrial relations skills 9

(34) mechanical skills 8 (3) budgeting skills 7 (26) legal skills 5 (19) human resources

skills 4 (15) security skills and the least number of respondents 2 (07) are those with

managerial skills

53 Presentation of Data Generated from Employees at Shell Petroleum Development

Company

Figure 3 Length of Service

The purpose of this research is to understand the impact of labour market reforms on employment

security in Shell Petroleum Development Company The first question posed by the researcher to the

respondents was when did they join the company The objective of this question was to understand

the length of service of the respondents and relate it to their level of understanding the reforms that

have taken place at Shell Petroleum Development Company The length of service statistics clearly

reflects that the majority of respondents 152 (50) joined the company between one to five years

ago followed by 82 (27) who joined Shell Petroleum Development Company 6 to 10 years ago

114

followed in turn by 56 (184) who joined the company 11to 15 years ago and the least number of

respondents 14 (46) joined Shell Petroleum Development Company 16 to 20 years ago

Furthermore when age was cross-tabulated by the number of years the respondents have spent in the

organisation it shows that a significant number of respondents 90 (296 ) who are in the age

bracket of 18 to 27 years said they have been employed for 1 to 5 years followed by 17 (114)

respondents who have been employed for 11 to 15 years A total of 7 (23) said they have been

employed for 6 to 10 years and 3 (1) respondents have been employed for 11 to 15 years in the

organisation Interestingly none of the respondents between the ages of 18 and 27 years has spent 16

years and above in the organisation This is however expected because it would amount to child

labour for a person of 27 years to have worked for over 16 years in an organisation

From the respondents between the ages of 28 and 37 31 (102) have worked for 1 to 5 years 27

(89) have worked for 6 to 10 years 2 (07) have worked for between 11 and 15 years and 1

(03) has been with the company for 16 to 20 years In the age bracket of 34 to 37 a total of 38

(125) have spent 11 to 15 years in Shell Petroleum Development Company 29 (95) have been

employed for 6 to 10 years 23 (76) have been employed for 1 to 5 years and nobody in this age

group has been with the company for over 16 years Among the respondents in the age bracket of 48

to 57 a total of 18 (59) have been with the company for 6 to 10 years 13 (43) have been with

the company for 11 to 15 years 8 (26) claimed to have worked for the company for 1 to 5 years

and another 8 (26) have been with the company for 16 to 20 years Among the respondents who

are above 58 years old 5 (16) have worked for the company for 16 to 20 years 1 (03) has

worked for the company for 6 to 10 years none have worked for less than 5 years and similarly

nobody in this category of respondents has worked for the company for 11 to 15 years

The gender cross-tabulation of the respondents reveals that from the male grouping a total of 64

(21) have been with company for 1 to 5 years followed by 35 (96) who have been with the

company for 11 to 15 years 28 (92) who have been with the company for 6 to 10 years and 11

(46) who have been with the company for 16 to 20 years A total of 88 (289) of female

respondents have been with the company for 1 to 5 years 54 (178) have been with the company

115

for 6 to 10 years 21 (69) have been with Shell Petroleum Development Company for 11 to 15

years and 3 (1) have been with Shell Petroleum Development Company for 16 to 20 years

The marital status cross-tabulation reveals that the majority of employees 97 (319) who are

single joined the company 1 to 5 years ago followed by 6 (2) who joined Shell Petroleum

Development Company 6 to 10 years ago and the least number of respondents 3 (1) joined the

company 11 to 15 years ago From those who are married 69 (227) joined the company 6 to 10

years ago 51 (168) joined Shell Petroleum Development Company 11 to 15 years ago 40 (132)

joined the company 1 to 5 years ago and 11 (35) joined the company 16 to 20 years ago From the

divorced 2 (07) joined the company 6 to 10 years ago and 16 to 20 years ago and 1 (03) joined

the company 1 to 5 years ago A total of 4 (13) widowed join the company 6 to 10 years ago

From the separated category a total of 14 (46) joined the company 1 to 5 years ago 2 (07)

joined Shell Petroleum Development Company 11 to 15 years ago and 1 (03) joined Shell

Petroleum Development Company 6 to 10 years ago and 16 to 20 years ago respectively

The income cross-tabulation reveals that 27 (89) respondents who earn between N18 000 and

N50 000 have worked for the company for 1 to 5 years A total of 63 (207) respondents who earn

between N51000 and N100000 have been with Shell Petroleum Development Company for 1 to 5

years and 13 (43) have been with Shell Petroleum Development Company for 6 to 10 years The

cross-tabulation further reveals that 31 (102) respondents who earn N101 000 to N150 000 have

been with Shell Petroleum Development Company for 1 to 5 years followed by 14 (46) who have

been with the company for 11 to 15 years 8 (26) who have been with the company for 6 to 10

years and 2 (07) who have been with the company for 16 to 20 years A total of 50 (264) have

been with the company for 6 to 10 years followed by 24 (79) who have been with Shell Petroleum

Development Company for 1 to 5 years 15 (49) who have been with Shell Petroleum


Development Company for 16 to 20 years earning N151 000 to N200 000 Furthermore 19 (63)

who have been with Shell Petroleum Development Company for 11 to 15 years followed by 10

(33) who have been with the company for 6 to 10 years 4 (13) who have been with the

company for 16 to 20 years and 1 (03) who has been with the company for 1 to 5 years earning

N201 000 to N300 000 Lastly 8 (26) employees who have been with the company for 11 to 15

116

years followed by 6 (2) who have a service of 1 to 5 years 5 (16) with a service of 16 to 20

years and 1 (03) with a service of 6 to 10 years earning N300 000+

When department was cross-tabulated with length of respondentsrsquo employment at the company from

the administrative department 33 (109) said they have worked for the company for 1 to 5 years

16 (53) said for 6 to 10 years 6 (2) assert that they have been in the company for 11 to 15 years

and 5 (16) have worked for 16 to 20 years In the marketing department 27 (89) said theyrsquove

been with Shell Petroleum Development Company for 1 to 5 years 6 (2) said they have worked for

6 to 10 years 13 (43) assert theyrsquove been working for 11 to 15 years and none of the marketing

department staff members have worked for 16 to 20 years In the finance department 10 (33) have

worked for 1 to 5 years 8 (26) have worked for 6 to 10 years and none from the finance

department have worked for either 11 to 15 years or 16 to 20 years In the HRM department 17

(56) asserted theyrsquove been working for Shell Petroleum Development Company for 1 to 5 years

18 (59) said theyrsquove worked for 6 to 10 years 17 (56) said they have been with the company for

11 to 15years and 2 (07) said theyrsquove been in the company for 16 to 20 years In the accounts

department 10 (33) said they have been at Shell Petroleum Development Company for 1 to 5

years 4 (13) asserted they have worked for 6 to 10 years 6 (2) said they have been working for

11 to 15 years and 2 (07) have worked for 16 to 20 years In the procurement department 3 (1)

said they have been working for 1 to 5 years none of the procurement department have worked for 6

to 10 years 5 (16) have worked for 11 to 15 years and none of the procurement department have

worked for 16 to 20 years In the legal department 5 (16) said theyrsquove been working for 1 to 5

years none of the legal department have worked for 6 to 10 years 2 (07) asserted theyrsquove worked

for 11 to 15 years and none have worked for 16 to 20 years In the engineering department 42

(138) said theyrsquove been working for 1 to 5 years 26 (86) asserted they have been working for 6

to 10 years 7 (23) said theyrsquove been working for Shell Petroleum Development Company for 11

to 15 years and 5 (16) said they have been with Shell Petroleum Development Company for 16 to

20 years In the logistics department 5 (16) said they have been with Shell Petroleum

Development Company for 1 to 5 years none of the logistics department have worked for 6 to 10

years none of the employees in the logistics department have worked for 11 to 15 years and none

have worked for 16 to 20 years In the security department none of them have worked for 1 to 5

117

years 4 (13) said theyrsquove worked for 6 to 10 years none have worked for 11 to 15 years and none

have been with the company for 16 to 20 years

The educational cross-tabulation of respondents reveals that 108 (355) of the tertiary respondents

joined the company 1 to 5 years ago 15 (5) of the respondents with secondary education said that

they had been employed by the company for 1 to 5 years and of the matriculation respondents 28

(92) had been in the company 1 to 5 years From the working period of 6 to 10 years it was

observed that 78 (257) of the tertiary education employees have worked for this period 4 (13)

of the secondary education employees have worked for this period and none of the matriculated

employees had worked for this period Between the period of 11 and 15 years 56 (185) of the

tertiary education employees have worked for this period and none of the secondary and

matriculated employees had worked for this period From the period of 16 to 20 years 14 (46) of

the tertiary education employees had worked for this period while none of the secondary and

matriculated employees responded

When department was cross-tabulated with length of respondentsrsquo employment at the company in

the administrative department 33 (109) said they have been working for 1 to 5 years 16 (53)

said theyrsquove worked there for 6 to 10 years 6 (2) assert that theyrsquove been in the company for 11 to

15 years and 5 (16) have worked there for 16 to 20 years In the marketing department 27 (89)

said they have been working for 1 to 5 years 6 (2) said they have worked for 6 to 10 years 13

(43) assert they have been working for 11 to 15 years and none of the marketing department have

worked for 16 to 20 years In the finance department 10 (33) have worked for 1 to 5 years 8

(26) have worked for 6 to 10 years and none of the finance department have worked for both 11

to 15 years and 16 to 20 years In the HRM department 17 (56) asserted they have been working

for 1 to 5 years 18 (59) said they have worked for 6 to 10 years 17 (56) said they have been

working for 11 to 15 years and 2 (07) said theyrsquove been in the company for 16 to 20 years In the

accounts department 10 (33) said they have been working there for 1 to 5 years 4 (13) asserted

theyrsquove worked there for 6 to 10 years 6 (2) said they have been working for 11 to 15 years and 2

(07) have worked there for 16 to 20 years In the procurement department 3 (1) said they have

been working there for 1 to 5 years none of the procurement department have worked for 6 to 10

years 5 (16) have worked for 11 to 15 years and none of the procurement department have

118




(138) said they have been working for 1 to 5 years 26 (86) asserted they have been working for

6 to 10 years 7 (23) said they have been working for 11 to 15 years and 5 (16) said they have

been working for 16 to 20 years In the logistics department 5 (16) said they have been working

for 1 to 5 years none of the logistics department have worked for 6 to 10 years none have worked

for 11 to 15 years and none have worked for 16 to 20 years In the security department none of

them have worked for 1 to 5 years 4 (13) of the security staff members said theyrsquove worked for 6

to 10 years none have worked for 11 to 15 years and none have worked for 16 to 20 years

The skills cross-tabulation of respondents reveals that 18 (67) of those with administrative skills

said they joined the company between 1 and 5 years ago (56) said they have worked between 6

and 10 years 9 (34) said 11 to 15 years and 5 (19) said 16 to 20 years From the analysis it

could be observed that the modal class as represented in the distribution is those who have been in

service between 1 to 5 years The cross-tabulation with respondents who possess marketing skill

reveals the following the majority of these respondents who are 19 (71) said they joined the

company between 1 and 5 years ago followed by 13 (49) of the respondents who claim that they

joined between 11 and 15 years ago 6 (22) said they have worked between 6 and 10 years and

none of them have worked between 16 and 20 years Cross-tabulation with electrical skilled

respondents reveals that most of the respondents precisely 14 (52) said they joined the company

between 6 and 10 years ago however they are followed by those who have worked for between 1

and 5 years There are 9 (34) of them Following them are 5 (19) of the respondents who claim

to have joined between 11 and 15 years ago and lastly 0 of them have worked between 16 and 20

years

A total of 14 (52) respondents who possesses accounting skills said they joined the company

between 1 and 5 years ago followed by those who have worked for between 6 and 10 years There

are 6 (22) of them Following them are 5 (19) of the respondents who claim to have joined

between 11 and 15 years ago Lastly 2 (07) of them have worked between 16 and 20 years

Technical skill-possessing respondents share the following views on when they joined the company

119

The modal group is that which comprises those who have spent 6 to 10 years in the organisation

This group has 9 (34) members in it The next group is those who have spent between 1 and 5

years in the organisation There are 6 (22) respondents in this group However they share the

same frequency with respondents who have worked between 11 and 15 years in the organisation No

respondent has worked between 16 and 20 years Analytic and design skill-possessing respondents

are of the following views on when they joined the company The modal group is that which

comprises workers who have spent 1 to 5 years in the organisation This group has 28 (105)

members in it The next group is those who have spent between 6 and 10 years in the organisation

There are 6 (22) respondents in this group However no persons have worked between 11 and 15

years and 16 and 20 years in the organisation

Respondents who possess conceptual and interpersonal skills share the following views on when

they joined the company The modal frequency is that which comprises respondents who have spent

between 1 and 5 years in the organisation This group has 9 (34) members in it They share the

same frequency with the respondents who have spent between 11 and 15 years in the organisation

There are also 9 (34) respondents in this group However 2 (07) persons have worked between

6 and 10 years in the organisation None of the respondents have worked between 16 and 20 years

Respondents who possess industrial relations skills share the following views The modal frequency

is that of respondents 14 (52) who have spent between 6 and 10 years in the organisation They

are followed by the respondents who have spent between 16 and 20 years in the organisation There

are only 2 (07) respondents in this group However only 1 (04) person has worked between 1

and 5 years in the organisation and none of the respondents have worked between 16 and 20 years

Respondents who possess human resources skills share the following views on when they joined the

company The modal frequency is that of respondents who have spent between 11 and 15 years in the

organisation This group has 5 (19) members in it However there are no respondents from the

other classes

For respondents who possess mechanical skills they share the following views Those who have

spent between 16 and 20 years in the organisation number 5 (19) members They are followed by

the respondents who have spent between 1 and 5 years in the organisation There are only 4 (15)

respondents in this group However no respondents have worked between 6 and 10 years and 11 and

120

15 years respectively Respondents who possess legal skills share the following views The modal

frequency is that of respondents 5 (19) who have spent between 1 and 5 years in the organisation

They are followed by the respondents who have spent between 11 and 15 years in the organisation

There are only 2 (07) respondents in this group However no persons have worked between 6 and

10 years in the organisation None of the respondents have worked between 16 and 20 years

Respondents who possess managerial skills share the following views The most frequency is that of

respondents who have spent between 1 and 5 years in the organisation There is just 1 (04)

member in it They share the same frequency with the respondents who have spent between 11 and

15 years in the organisation There is also only 1 (04) respondent in this group However none of

the respondents have worked between 5 and 10 years and 16 and 20 years respectively Respondents

who possess budgeting skills share the following views Those who are 6 to 10 years in the

organisation number 6 (22) members They are followed by the respondents who have spent

between 1 and 5 years in the organisation There is only 1 (04) respondent in this group Also

only 1 (04) respondent has worked between 11 and 15 years in the organisation and none of the

respondents have worked between 16 and 20 years Respondents who possess security skills are

examined next The modal frequency is that of respondents who have spent between 6 and 10 years

in the organisation There are 4 (15) members in this group There are no respondents who have

spent between 1 and 5 years 11 and 15 years and 16 and 20 years in the organisation

Are you permanent contract or temporary

07

52

474PermanentContractTemporary

Figure 4 Terms of Employment

121

The above statistics from respondents interviewed show that 157 (52) of workers at Shell

Petroleum Development Company are on contract 143 (474) are temporary and only 2 (07) are

permanent The mere fact that some employees fall under temporary employment made the

researcher inclined to ask them to emphasise what the type of atypical employment they fall into In

doing this five types of atypical employment were analysed They are outsourcedagency workers

contract workers part-time workers casual workers and temporary workers

When the age of respondents was cross-tabulated with whether they are permanent contract or

temporary workers 55 (182) respondents in the age group 18 to 27 said that they are on contract

and 44 (146) are temporary workers Among the respondents between the ages of 28 and 37 37

(53) are on contract 23 (76) work as a temporary employee and 1 (03) is working as a

permanent worker In the age bracket of 38 to 47 51 (169) are temporary staff members and 38

(126) are on contract In the age group 48 to 57 26 (86) are on contract 20 (66) are

temporary workers and 1 (03) is a permanent worker Among the respondents who are above 58

years of age 5 (17) are temporary workers and 1 (03) is a contract worker

The gender cross-tabulated with employment status reveals that males 70 (232) reported that they

were employed as contract workers while 67 (222) reported that they were employed as

temporary workers and 1 (03) is permanently employed For female 87 (288) reported that

they were employed as contract workers and 76 (252) reported that they were employed as

temporary workers while 1 (03) reported that she is permanently employed

The marital status cross-tabulating reveals that most of the single respondents 56 (185) said they

are temporary staff Next are the 49 (162) respondents who said that they are contract staff No

respondent falls under permanent staff The married respondents who are contract staff are 100

(585) constituting the modal class of the distribution followed by 69 (228) of the respondents

who claim that they are temporary staff while only 2 (07) are the least represented in the

distribution Cross-tabulation with divorced respondents reveals that most of the respondents

precisely 3 (1) said they are contract staff they however are followed by the 2 (07) who claim

to be temporary staff All of the widowed respondents 4 (13) said they are contract staff Lastly

separated respondents gave the following responses 16 (53) of them are temporary staff and only

122

1 (03) is a contract staff member However no separated member of the respondent is a

permanent staff member

The income cross-tabulation reveals that most of the N18 000 to N50 000 earning respondents ndash

that is 15 (5) ndash said they are temporary staff This group is the modal class of the distribution and

has the largest frequency Next are the 12 (4) respondents who said that they are contract staff No

respondent falls under permanent staff The N51 000 to N100 000 earning respondents who are

temporary staff are 53 (175) constituting the modal class of the distribution followed by 22

(73) of the respondents who claim that they are contract staff while none of them who are

permanent staff are represented in the distribution Cross-tabulation with N101 000 to N150 000

earning respondents reveals that most of the respondents precisely 35 (116) said they are contract

staff they however are followed by the 19 (63) who claim to be temporary staff None of them

are permanent staff either Next is the cross-tabulation of N151 000 to N200 000 earning

respondents with the question raised above A total of 69 (228) said they are contract staff

followed by those who are temporary There are 21 (7) of them Following them are only 2 (07)

of the respondents who claims to be permanently employed by the company The N201 000 to

N300 000 earning respondents who are temporary staff are 26 (86) constituting the modal class

of the distribution followed by 8 (26) of the respondents who claim that they are contract staff

while none of them who are permanent staff members are represented in the distribution The N300

000+ earning respondents who are contract staff total 11 (36) which is also the modal class of the

distribution followed by 9 (3) of the respondents who claim that they are temporary staff while

none of them who are permanent staff members are represented in the distribution

When department was cross-tabulated with whether the respondents are permanent contract or

temporary workers the result shows that in the admin department 2 (07) said they are permanent

29 (96) assert that they are contract staff and 29 (96) said they are temporary staff In the

marketing department none of the respondents are permanent 29 (96) said they are on contract

and 17 (56) said they are temporary staff In the finance department none of the staff are

permanent 15 (5) said they are on contract and 3 (1) assert that they are temporary In the HRM

department none of them are permanent 26 (86) are contract workers and 27 (89) are

temporary workers In the accounts department none of the workers are permanent 10 (33) are

123

contract staff and 12 (4) are temporary staff In procurement none of the staff are permanent none

are a contract staff and 8 (26) are temporary staff In the legal department none are permanent 2

(07) are contract staff and 5 (17) are temporary workers In the engineering department none

of the workers are permanent 37 (123) are contract staff and 42 (139) are temporary workers In

the logistics department none of the workers are permanent 5 (17) are contract staff and none are

temporary workers In the department of security none are permanent workers 4 (13) are contract

staff and none are temporary staff

The educational cross-tabulated on employment status reveals that 2 (07) of the tertiary education

workers were permanent workers while none of the secondary and matriculation were permanent

workers For contract employees it was discovered that 139 (462) of the tertiary education

workers were on contract 13 (43) of the secondary education respondents are on contract and 4

(13) of the matriculation education respondents are on contract For temporary employees it was

gathered that 113 (375) of the tertiary education respondents are on temporary employment 24

(8) of the matriculation education are on temporary employment and 6 (2) of the secondary

education are on temporary employment

Length of their Contracts

Figure 5 Length of their Contracts

124

Statistics reveal that the majority of respondents 82 (522) are on contracts that are between 4 and

6 years long already followed by those with contracts between 1 and 3 years who account for 51

(325) under 1 year with 13 ( 83) and the least number of respondents are those with 7+ years

with 11 (7)

If on contract how long is your contract

The age cross-tabulation of respondents reveals that 30 (191) respondents in the age bracket of 18

to 27 said that their contract is between 1 and 3 years 18 (115) claimed that their contract is

between 4 and 6 years and 5 (32) have a contract of under 1 year In the age bracket 28 to 37 17

(107) have between 4 and 6 years contract 7 (45) have a contract of between 1 and 3 years 7

(45) have a contract of under 1 year and 7 (45) have a contract of over 7 years Among the

respondents in the age bracket 38 to 47 28 (178) are on a contract that is between 4 and 6 years 9

(57) are on a contract of between 1 and 3 years 1 (06) has a contract of under one year and 1

(06) has a contract of over 7 years Among the respondents in the age bracket of 46 to 57 18

(115) are on a contract of between 4 and 6 years 5 (32) have worked for between 1 and 3 years

and 3 (19) of the respondents have worked for over 7 years In the age group 58 and above only 1

(06) has a contract of between 4 and 6 years

Gender was cross-tabulated with length of contract Of the male respondents 44 (28) reported that

their contract was for 4 to 6 years while 20 (127) cited that their contracts were for 1 to 3 years 3

(19) reported that their contract was for under 1 year and only 3 (19) reported that their

contracts were for 7+ years From the female respondents 38 (242) reported that their contract

was for 4 to 6 years 31 (197) cited that their contracts were for 1 to 3 years 10 (64) reported

that their contract was for under 1 year and finally 8 (51) reported that their contracts were for

7+ years

The gender cross-tabulation of single respondents reveals that 24 (153) who are the majority of

this class said they have a contract that runs for between 1 and 3 years 20 (127) of the

respondents said their contract runs between 4 and 6 years They are followed by 4 (25) who say

that their contract runs for under 1 year and none of them have a contract that runs for more than 7

125

years From the married respondents 59 (376) of them said they have a contract that runs for

between 4 and 6 years next are the 22 (153) respondents who have a contract for 1 to 3 years and

11 (7) have a contract of 7+ years Lastly and the least represented of the distribution 8 (51) of

the respondents say their contract is under a year From the divorced respondents 2 (13) of them

said they have a contract that runs for between 4 and 6 years and next is the only 1 (06)

respondent who has a contract for 1 to 3 years However workers whose contract runs under 1 year

and those with 7+ years have nobody in the distribution From the widowed respondents all of them

precisely 4 (25) said they have a contract that runs for between 1 and 3 years and the other

classes have no representatives in the distribution From the separated respondents 1 (06) of them

said they have a contract that runs for between 4 and 6 years and also under 1 year None of the

respondents have a contract that runs between 1 and 3 years and 7+ years

Because some of the respondents fall into the category of temporary workers their cross-tabulated

analysis was explained thus of the single respondents 16 (111) who are the majority of this class

said they are outsourcedagency workers 10 (69) of the respondents said they are contract staff

This same frequency is shared by casual and temporary staff They are followed by 9 (63) who say

that they are part-time staff From the married respondents 23 (16) of them said they are

outsourcedagency workers next are the 16 (111) respondents who are both part-time and casual

workers 10 (69) are contract workers and lastly 6 (42) are temporary workers From the

divorced respondents 1 (07) of them said they are outsourcedagency workers The same

frequency also goes for contract staff members However no worker who is divorced fell into the

remaining three categories that is part-time casual and temporary employees From the separated

respondents 7 (49) who are the majority of this class said they are outsourcedagency workers 6

(42) of the respondents said they are contract staff members They are followed by 3 (21) who

say that they are casual staff Lastly no respondent said they are part-time or temporary workers

The cross-tabulation of respondents based on earnings reveals that those who earn between N18 000

and N50 000 are 12 (153) and have a contract that runs for between 1 and 3 years It was

however observed that no other respondent admitted to being under contract for under 1 year

between 4 and 6 years and 7+ years From the N51 000 to N100 000 earning respondents 10

(64) of them said they have a contract that runs for between 1 and 3 years next are the 6 (38)

126

respondents who have a contract for 4 to 6 years and 4 (25) have a contract of 7+ years Likewise

4 (25) of the respondents also say their contract is under a year From the N101 000 to N150 000

earning respondents 18 (115) of them said they have a contract that runs for between 4 and 6

years and next are the 12 (76) respondents who have a contract for 1 to 3 years However

workers whose contract runs for under 1 year and those with 7+ years have 2 (13) apiece in the

distribution From the N151 000 to N200 000 earning respondents all of them precisely 45

(287) said they have a contract that runs for between 4 and 6 years next are the 13 (83)

respondents who have a contract for 1 to 3 years and 7 (45) have a contract of under a year

Meanwhile 3 (19) of the respondents also say their contract is 7+ years From the respondents

whose income is between N201 000 and N300 000 all of them said they have a contract that runs

for between 4 and 6 years and the remaining contracts lengths have nobody representing the groups

Also 5 (32) 4 (25) and 2 (13) of the respondents who earn N300 000+ say that they have a

contract for 4 to 6 years 1 to 3 years and 7+ years respectively

When department was cross-tabulated with length of respondentsrsquo contract in the admin department

3 (19) said under 1 year 13 (83) asserted that their contract is 1 to 3 years long 13 (83) said

4 to 6 years and 1 (06) said 7 years and above In the marketing department 1 (06) said his

contract is for under 1year 6 (38) said 1 to 3 years long 15 (96) said 4 to 6 years long and 5

(32) asserted 7 years and above In the finance department 6 (38) said their contract is under 1

year long 9 (57) said 1 to 3 years long none said 4 to 6 years long and none said 7 years and

above In the HRM department 1 (06) said their contract is under 1 year 2 (13) said 1 to 3

years long 21 (134) said their contract is 4 to 6 years long and 2 (13) said 7 years and above

In the accounts department none said their contract is under 1 year 2 (13) said theirs is 1 to 3

years long 8 (51) said their contract is 4 to 6 years long and none said theirs is 7 years and above

In the legal department none said their contract is either under 1 year or 1 to 3years 2 (13) said

theirs is 4 to 6 years and none said theirs is 7 years+ In the engineering department 2 (13) said

their contract is under 1 year 11 (7) asserted that their contract is 1 to 3 years 22 (14) said their

contract is 4 to 6 years long and 3 (19) said theirs is 7 years and above In the logistics

department none said their contract is under 1 year 4 (25) said theirs is 1to 3 years long 1 (06)

said their contract is 4 to 6 years long and none has a contract of 7 years and above In the security

127

department none has a contract of under 1 year 4 (25) said their contract is 1 to 3 years long and

none have a contract of 4 to 6 years or 7 years and above

The education cross-tabulation with duration of contract reveals that 13 (83) of the tertiary

education employees were under 1 year of contract and none of the secondary and matriculation

education employees are on contract under 1 year For a contract duration of 1 to 3 years 33 (212)

of the respondents were of tertiary education 13 (83) of the respondents were of secondary

education and 4 (26) of the respondents were of matriculation education For a contract duration

of 4 to 6 years it was observed that 82 (526) of the tertiary education respondents are on contract

for this period while none of the employees with secondary and matriculation education are on

contract for this period For the 7 years and above contract period 11 (71) of the tertiary education

respondents are on a contract basis for this working period while none of the secondary and

matriculation education employees are on contract for this period

Figure 6 Types of Atypical Worker

The above statistics clearly denote that a significant number of employees 47 (326) at Shell

Petroleum Development Company are with outsourced agencies followed by 29 (201) who are

casual 27 (188) who are on contract 25 (174) who are part-time and 16 (111) who are

temporary

128

As a result of the fact that some of the respondents fall into the category of temporary workers their

cross-tabulated analysis was explained thus of the N18 000 to N50 000 respondents 7 (49) who

are the majority of this class said they are outsourcedagency workers 2 (14) of the respondents

said they are contract staff temporary staff part-time staff casual staff or temporary staff From the

N51 000 to N100 000 earning respondents 16 (111) of them said they are contract workers next

are the 13 (9) respondents who are outsourcedagency workers 10 (69) are casual workers 8

(56) are part-time workers and lastly 5 (35) are temporary workers From the N101 000 to

N150 000 earning respondents 8 (56) of them said they are outsourcedagency workers and 4

(28) are temporary staff members However 3 (21) workers are both casual staff and part-time

and only 1 (07) is a contract staff member From the respondents who earn N151 000 to N200

000 8 (56) who are the majority of this class said they are part-time workers and 6 (42) of the

respondents said they are casual staff members They are followed by 4 (28) who say that they are

temporary staff and 3 (21) said they are outsourced workers while 2 (14) said they are contract

workers The N201 000 to N300 000 earning respondents who are casual and outsourced staff are 8

(56) each constituting the modal class of the distribution following them are 5 (35) of the

respondents who claim that they are contract staff while 4 (28) of them are part-time staff

represented in the distribution Lastly only 1 (07) of the respondents is a temporary staff member

The N300 000+ earning respondents who are outsourcedagency staff are 8 (56) which is also the

modal class of the distribution following them is just 1 (07) of the respondents who claims to be a

contract staff member while none of them who are part-time casual and temporary staff members

are represented in the distribution

The educational cross-tabulation on what class of atypical work they fall into reveals that 41 (285)

of the tertiary education respondents are outsourced while 3 (21) of both the secondary and

matriculation education are agency From the contract temporary employment class it was observed

that 21 (146) of the tertiary education employees are on contract 6 (42) of the matriculation

education employees are on temporary contract and none of the secondary education employees are

on temporary contract For part-time temporary class 20 (139) of the tertiary education responded

that they are part-time 4 (28) of the matriculation education said they are part-time and 1 (07)

of the secondary education is part-time For the casual temporary class 22 (153) of the tertiary

education employees are casual 5 (35) of the matriculation education respondents are casual and

129

2 (14) of the secondary education are casual From the temporary class of the atypical worker 11

(76) of the tertiary education employees said they are temporary 5 (35) of the matriculation

education employees said they are temporary and none of the secondary education employees belong

to this class

Current Employment Conditions of Workers

Figure 7 Current Employment Conditions under which Employees Work

A total of 128 (441) of the respondents are employed on renewable contracts based on demand

followed by 84 (29) who are employed on contract employment that does not have benefits 44

(152) are employed through outsourced agencies and 34 (117) are on casual employment

The age level cross-tabulation with the explanations of the current conditions under which

respondents work reveals that the majority of the respondents between 18 and 27 years 40 (138)

have their contracts renewable based on labour demand 25 (86) of the respondents claimed that

their employment contract does not have benefits 17 (59) are outsourced agency employees and

13 (45) are on casual employment Among the respondents in the age bracket of 28 to 37 26 (9)

have their contracts renewable based on labour demand 17 (59) are working under an

employment contract that does not have benefits 8 (28) are casual workers and 8 (28) are

130

outsourced agency employees The next category of respondents is those in the age bracket of 38 to

47 Of these 33 (114) work under contract employment that has no benefits 32 (11) have

renewable contracts based on labour demand 12 (41) are outsourced agency employees and 9

(31) are casual employees In the age bracket of 48 to 57 27 (93) work on renewable contracts

based on labour demand 8 (28) are on contract employment that does not have benefits 6 (21)

are outsourced agency employees and 4 (14) are on casual employment Among the respondents

above 58 years 3 (1) are on renewable contract based on labour demand 1 (03) is an outsourced

agency employee and 1 (03) is working on an employment contract that does not have benefits

When gender was cross-tabulated with current employment conditions among the male respondents

58 (20) stated that they were on a renewable contract based on labour demand while 33 (114)

cited that they were on contract employment that does not have benefits 21 (72) are on casual

employment and 18 (62) reported to be from an outsourced agency Of the female respondents

70 (241) stated that they were on renewable contracts based on labour demand 51 (176) cited

that they were on contract employment that does not have benefits while 26 (9) reported to be

from an outsourced agency and 13 (45) are on casual employment

The marital status cross-tabulation with current respondentsrsquo employment conditions reveals that the

majority of the respondents 43 (148) have their contracts renewable based on labour demand 25

(86) of the respondents claimed that their contract employment does not have benefits 17 (59)

are outsourced agency employees and 16 (55) are on casual employment Among the married

respondents 75 (259) have their contracts renewable based on labour demand 46 (159) are

working under a contract employment that does not have benefits 25 (86) are outsourced agency

employees and lastly 16 (55) are casual workers The next category of respondents includes

those who are divorced 3 (1) work on renewable contracts based on labour demand 2 (07) are

under contract employment that has no benefits and none work under outsourced agency and casual

employment From the widowed respondents 2 (07) are on contract employment that does not

have benefits 1 (03) is on renewable contract based on labour demand and the same frequency

applies to those who are on renewable contracts based on labour demand and none of the

respondents work under casual employment Among the respondents who are separated 9 (31) are

working on a contract of employment that does not have benefits 6 (21) are on renewable

131

contracts based on labour demand while 2 (07) are casual employees and 1 (03) is an

outsourced agency employee

The income status cross-tabulation reveals that the majority of the respondents who earn between

N18 000 and N50 000 10 (34) have their contracts renewable based on labour demand 8 (28)

of the respondents claimed that their contract of employment does not have benefits 4 (14) are on

casual employment and 3 (1) are outsourced agency employees Among the respondents who earn

N51 000 to N100 000 26 (9) have contract employment that doesnrsquot have benefits 25 (86)

have renewable contracts based on labour demand 14 (14) are casual workers and lastly 9

(31) are outsourced agency employees The next category of respondents includes those who are

N101 000 to N150 000 earners 25 (86) work on renewable contracts based on labour demand

13 (45) are on contract employment that has no benefits 9 (31) are under outsourced agency

and 5 (17) work under casual employment From the N151 000 to N200 000 earning

respondents 41 (141) are on renewable contracts based on labour demand 23 (79) are on

contract employment that does not have benefits 16 (55) are outsourced agency workers and 8

(28) of the respondents work under casual employment Among the respondents who are earners

of N201 000 to N300 000 15 (52) are on renewable contracts based on labour demand 10

(34) are working on a contract of employment that does not have benefits while 6 (21) are

outsourced agency employees and 1 (03) is a casual employee

When department was cross-tabulated with the explanation of the current employment conditions of

the respondents in the admin department 25 (86) said their contract is renewable based on labour

demand 7 (24) asserted that they are outsourced agency employees 17 (59) posited that their

contract employment does not have benefits and 9 (31) said they on casual employment In the

marketing department 21 (72) posited that their contract was renewable based on labour demand

8 (28) said they are outsourced agency employees 14 (48) are of the opinion that contract

employment does not have benefits and 1 (03) said he is on casual employment In the finance

department 8 (28) said their contract is renewable based on labour demand 3 (1) asserted that

they are outsourced agency employees 5 (17) argued that contract employment does not have

benefits and 1 (03) said their employment is casual In the HRM department 20 (69) argued

that their contract is renewable based on labour demand 9 (31) said that they are outsourced

132

employees 13 (45) asserted that they are on contract employment without benefits and 7 (24)

posited that their work is casual In the accounts department 11 (17) agreed that they have a

renewable contract based on labour demand 3 (1) are outsourced agency employees 6 (21) are

of contract employment that does not have benefits and 1 (03) said heshe is a casual employee

In the procurement department 2 (07) said their renewable contract is based on labour demand

none are outsourced agency employee 4 (14) are on contract employment that does not have

benefits and 1 (03) asserted that their employment is casual In the legal department 4 (14)

posited that theirs was a renewable contract based on labour demand none said they are outsourced

agency employees 3 (1) are of the opinion that contract employment does not have benefits and

none said they are on casual employment In the engineering department 33 (114) said their

contract is renewable based on labour demand 13 (45) asserted that they are outsourced agency

employees 19 (66) argued that contract employment does not have benefits and 13 (45) said

their employment is casual In the logistics department 3 (1) posited that their contract was

renewable based on labour demand none said they are outsourced agency employees 1 (03) is of

the opinion that contract employment does not have benefits and 1 (03) said heshe is on casual

employment

When educational information was cross-tabulated with the explanation of the current employment

conditions under which the employees work it was found that 112 (388) of the tertiary education

workers are on renewable contracts based on labour demand 12 (42) of the secondary education

workers work on renewable contracts based on labour demand while 4 (14) of the secondary

education renew their contract based on labour demand From the outsourced agency employees 38

(131) are of tertiary education 4 (14) are of matriculation education and 2 (07) are of

secondary education From the current employment conditions under which contract employment

does not have benefits 66 (228) of the tertiary education respondents said they donrsquot have any

benefits 10 (35) of the secondary education respondents assert that no benefit is attached to them

and 7 (24) of the matriculation education respondents donrsquot have any benefits From the casual

employment conditions 28 (97) assert that they are on casual employment conditions 5 (17)

matriculation education respondents said they are on casual employment while 1 (03) secondary

education respondent is on casual employment

133

The skills cross-tabulation reveals that the majority of the respondents who possess administrative

skills 22 (86) have their contracts renewable based on labour demand 10 (39) of the

respondents claimed that their contract employment does not have benefits 8 (31) are on casual

employment and 6 (24) are outsourced agency employees Among the respondents who possess

marketing skills 15 (59) have renewable contracts based on labour demand 13 (51) have a

contract of employment that does not have benefits 8 (31) are outsourced agency employees and

0 are casual employees The next category of respondents are those who possess electrical skills 14

(55) work on renewable contracts based on labour demand 5 (2) are on employment contracts

that have no benefits 5 (2) work as casual employees and 2 (08) are under outsourced agency

From the accounting skilled respondents 12 (47) are on renewable contracts based on labour

demand 6 (24) are on contract employment that does not have benefits 5 (2) are outsourced

agency workers and 2 (08) of the respondents work under casual employment Among the

respondents who are skilled with technicalities 13 (51) are on renewable contracts based on

labour demand 3 (12) are working on a contract of employment that does not have benefits while

3 (12) are casual employees and 2 (08) are outsourced agency employees

The majority of the respondents who possess analytic and design skills 10 (39) have their

contracts renewable based on labour demand and the respondents claimed that their contract of

employment does not have benefits 7 (27) are outsourced agency employees and the respondents

who are on casual employment among the respondents who possess conceptual and interpersonal

skills 7 (27) have contract employment that does not have benefits 5 (2) have renewable

contracts based on labour demand 4 (16) are outsourced agency employees and 3 (12) are

casual employees The next category of respondents are those who possess industrial relations skills

7 (27) work on renewable contracts based on labour demand 4 (16) are on employment

contracts that have no benefits 3 (12) are under outsourced agency and 1 (04) works as a

casual employee From the human resources skilled respondents 2 (16) are on renewable

contracts based on labour demand and are on contract employment that does not have benefits and

none of the respondents work under casual employment or are outsourced agency workers

Among the respondents who are skilled mechanically 4 (16) are on renewable contracts based on


134

1 (04) is an outsourced agency employee and none are casual employees The majority of the

respondents who possess legal skills 4 (16) have their contracts renewable based on labour

demand 3 (12) claimed that their contract of employment does not have benefits none are

outsourced agency employees and none are on casual employment Among the respondents who

possess managerial skills all 2 (08) are outsourced agency employees none have contracts of

employment that do not have benefits or have renewable contracts based on labour demand and are

casual employees The next category of respondents are those who possess budgeting relations skills

6 (24) work on renewable contracts based on labour demand 2 (08) are contracts of

employment that have no benefits none are under outsourced agency and 0 work as casual

employees Lastly from the security skilled respondents 2 (08) are on contract employment that

does not have benefits 1 (04) of the respondents is on a renewable contract based on labour

demand and who are outsourced agency worker work under casual employment

Working Conditions Prior to the Implementation of Reforms

Figure 8 Working Conditions Prior to the Implementation of Reforms

The majority of respondents 224 (762) felt that their working conditions have not changed as

contract workers since the reforms were implemented A total of 50 (17) of the respondents

highlighted that the working conditions were poor even before the implementation of the reforms A

135

small proportion of respondents 20 (68) felt that their working conditions are not bad when

compared to other companies in Nigeria

The respondentsrsquo views were further cross-tabulated by age using their working conditions prior to

the implementation of the labour market reforms (flexibility trends) Within the age bracket of 18 to

27 75 (255) respondents assert that their working conditions have not changed as a contract

worker 16 (54) claimed that they work under poor conditions and 5 (17) claimed that it is not

bad compared to other companies In the age bracket of 28 to 37 47 (16) said their working

conditions have not changed as a contract worker 10 (34) are working under poor conditions and

2 (07) maintained that the condition is not bad when compared with other companies Among the

respondents in the age bracket of 38 to 47 65 (221) maintain that their working conditions have

not changed as a contract worker 11 (37) are working under poor conditions and 11 (37)

claimed it is not bad when compared with other companies while 34 (116) respondents in the age

bracket 48 to 57 responded that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 11

(37) are working under poor conditions and 1 (03) said the working condition is not bad when

compared with what is obtained in other companies while 3 (1) of the respondents aged 58 and

above claimed that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 2 (07) are

working under poor employment conditions and 1 (03) is of the opinion that the working

conditions are not bad when compared to other companies

The gender cross-tabulation reveals that 99 (337) male respondents cited that the working

conditions had not changed as contract workers while 25 (85) cited that there were poor working

conditions and 10 (34) indicated that the conditions were not bad compared to other companies

Of the female respondents 125 (425) cited that the working conditions had not changed as

contract workers while 25 (85) cited that there were poor working conditions and 10 (34)

indicated that the conditions were not bad compared to other companies

The respondentsrsquo views were further cross-tabulated using marital status 79 (269) respondents

assert that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker This also represents the

modal class of the distribution 17 (58) claimed that they work under poor conditions 5 (17)

claimed that it is not bad compared to other companies and married respondents gave their opinions

136

as follows 123 (418) said their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 31

(105) are working under poor conditions and 12 (41) maintained that the condition is not bad

when compared with other companies From their opinions it could be observed that most of the

married respondents work under conditions that have not changed as a contract worker They are

followed ndash not closely though ndash by those who claim to work under poor working conditions

Among the divorced respondents 4 (14) maintain that their working conditions have not changed

as a contract worker 1 (03) claimed it is not bad when compared with other companies and none

of them are working under poor conditions All widowed respondents 4 (14) responded that their

working conditions have not changed as a contract worker However no respondent said heshe is

working under poor conditions or that the working condition is not bad when compared with what is

obtained in other companies Of the separated respondents 14 (48) claimed that their working

conditions have not changed as a contract worker 2 (07) are working under poor employment

conditions and 2 (07) are of the opinion that the working conditions are not bad when compared

to other companies

The earnings cross-tabulation reveals that the respondents who earn between N18 000 and N50 000

22 (75) assert that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker This also

represents the modal class of the distribution and 2 (07) claimed that they work under poor

conditions The same frequency also claimed that it is not bad compared to other companies

Respondents who earn N51 000 to N100 000 gave their opinion as 60 (204) said their working

conditions have not changed as a contract worker 9 (31) are working under poor conditions and 5

(17) maintained that the conditions are not bad when compared with other companies From their

opinions it could be observed that most of the respondents work under conditions that have not

changed as a contract worker They are followed ndash not closely though ndash by those who claim to work

under poor working conditions Among the N101 000 to N150 000 earning respondents 34 (116)

maintain that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 13 (44) are working

under poor conditions and 5 (17) claimed it is not bad when compared with other companies

Most respondents 70 (238) who are earn between N151 000 and N200 000 responded that their

working conditions have not changed as a contract worker However 14 (48) said they are

working under poor conditions and 5 (17) said that the working conditions are not bad when

137

compared with what is obtained in other companies 26 (88) of respondents who earn N201 000

to N300 000 claimed that their working conditions have not change as a contract worker 6 (2) are

working under poor employment conditions and 2 (07) are of the opinion that the working


When department was cross-tabulated 48 (163) respondents from the administration department

said that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 7 (24) assert that their

condition of working had become poor and 3 (1) said not bad compared to other companies In the

marketing department 34 (116) cited that the working conditions had not changed as contract

workers while 8 (27) cited that there were poor working conditions and 3 (1) indicated that the

conditions were not bad compared to other companies In the finance department 11 (37) said that

the working conditions had not changed as contract workers while 4 (14) cited that there were

poor working conditions and 2 (07) indicated that the conditions were not bad compared to other

companies From the HRM department 43 (146) respondents assert that their working conditions

have not changed as a contract worker 9 (31) claimed that they work under poor conditions and 2

(07) claimed that it is not bad compared to other companies From the accounts department 17

(58) said that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 3 (1) assert that

their condition of working has become poor and 1 (03) said not bad compared to other

companies

In the procurement department 5 (17) said that the working conditions had not changed as


indicated that the conditions were not bad compared to other companies In the legal department 3

(1) said that the working conditions had not changed as contract workers while 1 (03) cited that

there were poor working conditions and 2 (07) indicated that the conditions were not bad

compared to other companies In the engineering department 55 (187) respondents assert that

their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 16 (54) agreed that they work

under poor conditions and 5 (17) said that it is not bad compared to other companies In the

logistic department 4 (14) said that their working conditions have not changed as a contract

worker 1 (03) assert that their condition of working has become poor and none said not bad

compared to other companies In the security department 4 (14) said that the working conditions

138

had not changed as contract workers while none cited that there were poor working conditions and

none indicated that the conditions were not bad compared to other companies

The educational cross-tabulation reveals that 185 (631) respondents with tertiary education said

that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 24 (82) matriculation

education respondents assert that their condition of working still remains the same as a contract

worker and 14 (48) of the secondary education workers said their working conditions still remain

the same as contract staff Still on the working conditions 46 (157) said prior to the

implementation of the reform their working condition had become poor 2 (07) of both the

secondary and matriculation education respondents assert that the reform has made their working

condition poor 17 (58) of the tertiary education respondents said their working conditions are not

bad compared to other companies 2 (07) of the secondary education respondents assert that their

working conditions are good compared to other companies and 1 (03) of the matriculation

education respondents confirmed that the working conditions are not bad compared to other

companies

The departmental cross-tabulation reveals that of the respondents who possess administrative skills


represents the modal class of the distribution 5 (19) claimed that they work under poor

conditions 1 (04) claimed that it is not bad compared to other companies and respondents with

marketing skills gave their opinion as follows 27 (104) said their working conditions have not

changed as a contract worker 7 (27) are working under poor conditions and 3 (12) maintained

that the condition is not bad when compared to other companies From their opinions it could be

observed that most of the respondents work under conditions that have not changed as a contract

worker Among those with electrical skills 19 (73) maintain that their working conditions have

not changed as a contract worker 9 (35) are working under poor conditions and none claimed it is

not bad when compared to other companies

A total of 21 (81) respondents who possess accounting skills responded that their working

conditions have not changed as a contract worker However 3 (12) said they are working under

poor conditions and the same frequency also said that the working conditions are not bad when

139

compared to what is obtained in other companies Of the respondents who possess technical skills

12 (46) claimed that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker 6 (23) are

working under poor employment conditions and none are of the opinion that the working condition is

not bad when compared to other companies From the respondents who possess analytical skills 26

(10) respondents assert that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker This

also represents the modal class of the distribution and 4 (15) claimed that they work under poor

condition and 3 (12) claimed that it is not bad compared to other companies Respondents with

conceptual skills gave their opinion as 16 (62) said their working conditions have not changed as

a contract worker 2 (08) are working under poor conditions and 2 (08) maintained that the


Among those with industrial relation skills 14 (54) maintain that their working conditions have


not bad when compared to other companies From 3 (12) respondents who possess human

resources skills responded that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker

However 1 (04) said heshe is working under poor conditions and the same frequency also said

that the working condition is not bad when compared to what is obtained in other companies Of the

respondents with mechanical skills 6 (23) claimed that their working conditions have not changed

as a contract worker 2 (08) are of the opinion that the working conditions are not bad when

compared to other companies and 1 (04) is working under poor employment conditions Among

those with legal skills 3 (12) maintain that their working conditions have not changed as a

contract worker 2 (08) claimed it is not bad when compared to other companies and 1 (04) is

working under poor conditions A total of 2 (08) respondents who possess managerial skills

responded that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker None said they are

working under poor conditions or that the working conditions are not bad when compared to what is

obtained in other companies Lastly 4 (15) of the respondents who possess security skills claimed

that their working conditions have not changed as a contract worker and none are of the opinion that

the working conditions are not bad when compared to other companies and that they are working

under poor employment conditions

140

Types of Labour Market Reforms Implemented at Shell Petroleum Development Company

that Affected Workers

Figure 9 Types of Labour Market Reforms Implemented at Shell Petroleum Development

Company that Affected Workers

Statistics denote that 161 (53) of the respondents highlighted that the implementation of contract

employment affected them as their hours of work were reduced Secondly a total of 80 (263)

workers cited that the use of outsourced contracts has made the workers more vulnerable to

exploitation A significant proportion of workers 44 (145) also felt that the implementation of

casual labour has partly affected their take-home pay Lastly 19 (63) workers cited that part-time

work implementation has led to the lsquoperipheralisationrsquo of the core staff

The age cross-tabulation reveals that 50 (164) respondents who are between 18 and 27 years of

age had their hours of work reduced as a result of contract employment 28 (925) observed that

outsourced contracts made them more vulnerable 17 (56) claimed they were affected by casual

work and 5 (16) said part-time work made them peripheral workers Out of the total number of 61

respondents between the ages of 28 and 37 32 (105) said they were affected by contract

employment that reduced their hours of work 16 (53) asserted that they were affected by

outsourced contracts that made them vulnerable 10 (33) are affected by part-time work that

141

caused them to be peripheral workers and 3 (10) said they were affected by casual employment

Respondents in the age group of 38 to 47 are 90 in number and 51 (168) claimed that contract

employment has reduced their hours of work 23 (76) said outsourced contracts have made them

more vulnerable 12 (39) observed that they were affected by casual employment and 4 (13)

said they were affected by part-time work that made them peripheral workers Respondents in the

age bracket 48 to 57 who were affected by contract employment were 24 (79) those affected by

outsourced contracts that made them vulnerable are 12 (39) 6 (2) claimed to have been affected

by part-time work that led to them being peripheral workers and 5 (16) have been affected by

casual employment Respondents above the age of 58 years are the least affected by the labour

market reforms implemented at Shell Petroleum Development Company ndash 4 (13) are affected by

contract employment 1 (03) is affected by outsourced contracts and similarly 1 (03) is

affected by part-time work arrangements

When gender was cross-tabulated a total of 73 (24) of the male respondents reported that they had

been affected by contract employment and reduced hours of work while 34 (112) cited that they

had been affected by outsourced contracts that have made them more vulnerable and 6 (2)

reported that part-time work has affected them and has led them to be peripheral workers Of the

female respondents 88 (299) of the male respondents reported that they had been affected by

contract employment that has reduced their hours of work while 46 (151) cited that they had been

affected by outsourced contracts that have made them more vulnerable Lastly 13 (43) reported

that part-time work has affected them and has led them to be peripheral workers

The marital status cross-tabulation reveals that 51 (168) single respondents said that contract

employment has reduced their hours of work A total of 29 (95) felt that outsourced contracts have

made them more vulnerable 21 (69) said casual employment has reduced their earnings and 5

(16) said part-time work has negated them to be peripheral workers A total of 94 (309) of those

who are married felt that contract employment has reduced their hours of work 44 (145) said

outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable 21 (69) cited that casual employment has

reduced their earnings and 12 (39) felt that part-time work has led them to be peripheral workers

From the divorced respondents 3 (1) said that contract employment has reduced their hours of

work 1 (03) said that outsourced contracts made himher more vulnerable and that part-time work

142

has led them to be peripheral workers respectively However none from the divorced category said

that casual employment has reduced their earnings

From those who are widowed 3 (1) said that contract employment has reduced their hours of

work A total of 1 (03) said that outsourced contracts has made himher more vulnerable none

said part-time work has led them to be a peripheral worker and none said casual employment has

reduced their earnings From the respondents who are separated 10 (33) said that contract

employment has reduced their hours of work 5 (16) said that outsourced contracts have made

them more vulnerable 2 (07) said casual employment has reduced their earnings and 1 (03)

said that part-time work has led himher to be a peripheral worker

The income cross-tabulation reveals that from the respondents who earn N18 000 to N50 000 15

(49) said that contract employment has reduced their hours of work A total of 5 (16) said that

outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable 5 (16) said that casual employment has

reduced their earnings and 2 (079) cited that part-time work has led them to be peripheral

workers Those who are N51 000 to N100 000 earners are observed next of these 38 (125) said

contract employment reduced their hours of work 18 (59) said outsourced contracts have made

them more vulnerable 16 (53) said they were casual employees and 4 (13) said part-time work

has led them to be peripheral workers A total 31 (102) of the respondents who earn N101 000 to

N150 000 said that contract employment has reduced their hours of work 14 (46) felt that

outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable to exploitation and 2 (07) said part-time

work has led them to be peripheral workers However 8 (26) said that casual employment has

reduced their earnings From the respondents who earn N151 000 to N200 000 a total of 46

(151) said that contract employment has reduced their hours of work A significant proportion 27

(89) said that outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable 11 (36) said casual

employment has reduced their earnings and 8 (26) said part-time work has led them to be

peripheral workers Respondents who earn N201 000 to N300 000 20 (66) said that contract


them more vulnerable to exploitation 1 (03) said casual employment has reduced earnings and 1

(03) said that part-time work has led himher to be a peripheral worker Earners of N300 000+ 11


143

outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable to exploitation 3 (1) said casual

employment has reduced their earnings and 2 (07) said that part-time work has negated them to be

peripheral workers

The department cross-tabulation reveals that from the admin department 32 (105) said contract


more vulnerable to exploitation 5 (16) said that part-time work has negated them to peripheral

workers and 11 (36) cited that casual employment implementation has led to the reduction of

earnings In the marketing department 28 (92) asserted that contract employment has reduced

their hours of work 14 (46) posited that outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable 2

(07) said that part-time work has negated them to be peripheral workers and 2 (07) cited that

casual employment has reduced their earnings In the finance department 7 (23) said contract

employment has reduced their hours of work 8 (26) cited that outsourced contracts have made

them more vulnerable 1 (03) said that part-time work has led them to be peripheral workers and 2

(07) highlighted that casual employment has led to the reduction of their earnings

In the HRM department 30 (99) posited that contract employment has reduced their hours of

work 13 (43) cited that outsourced contracts has made them more vulnerable 4 (13) said that

part-time work has led them to be peripheral workers and 7 (23) felt that casual employment has

led to the reduction of their earnings In the accounts department 14 (46) said contract


them more vulnerable 2 (07) felt that part-time work has negated them to be peripheral workers

and 2 (07) said that casual employment has led to the reduction of their earnings In the

procurement department 6 (2) said contract employment has reduced their hours of work 1 (03)

cited that outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable none pointed out that they were

affected by part-time work and 1 (03) said that casual employment has led to the reduction of

hisher earnings In the legal department 6 (2) are of the opinion that contract employment has

reduced their hours of work none cited that outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable

none pointed out that they were affected by part-time work and 1 (03) said that casual

employment has led to the reduction of hisher earnings In the engineering department 33 (109)

said contract employment has reduced their hours of work 26 (86) cited that outsourced contracts

144

have made them more vulnerable 4 (13) pointed out that part-time work has negated core workers

to peripheral workers and 17 (56) highlighted that casual employment has led to the reduction of

their earnings In the logistics department 2 (07) said contract employment has reduced their

hours of work 1 (03) cited that outsourced contracts have made him more vulnerable 1 (03)

cited that part-time work has negated himher to a peripheral worker and 1 (03) felt that casual

employment has reduced hisher earnings In the security department 3 (1) said contract


himher more vulnerable 1 (03) said that the introduction of part-time work has led to himher

being negated to a peripheral worker and no respondent cited that casual employment has in any way

reduced their earnings

Education was cross-tabulated using a total of 132 (436) Respondents with tertiary education said

contract employment has reduced their hours of work 14 (46) of both the matriculation and

secondary education respondents also agreed that contract employment reduced their working hours

A total 71 (234) of the tertiary education respondents said outsourced contracts have made them

more vulnerable to exploitation followed by 7 (23) of those with matriculation education and 2

(07) of respondents with secondary education A total of 17 (56) tertiary education respondents

said they were affected by part-time work that has led them to be peripheral workers 1 (03) of

both the secondary and matriculation education respondents assert that they were affected by the

part-time work reform that has led them to be peripheral workers From the respondents who felt that

casual employment implementation has in turn led to a reduction of earnings there are 36 (119)

with tertiary education followed by 6 (2) with matriculation education and 2 (07) with

secondary education

The skills cross-tabulation reveals that those with administrative skills 24 (9) said that contract

employment has led to the reduction of the hours of work 10 (37) said that outsourced contracts

have made them more vulnerable to exploitation 8 (2) said casual employment has led to the

reduction of earnings and 5 (19) said part-time work has negated them to be peripheral workers A

total of 25 (94) of those who possess marketing skills said that contract employment has reduced

their hours of work 11 (41) said outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable to

exploitation 1 (04) said casual employment has contributed to the reduction of hisher earnings

145

and 1 (04) said part-time work has marginalised himher to be a peripheral worker A total of 12

(45) respondents with electrical skills said that the contract employment has reduced their hours of

work followed by 10 (37) who said that outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable

and 5 (19) said casual employment has reduced their earning while 1 (04) said part-time work

has led himher being a peripheral worker

From the respondents who possess accounting skills 13 (49) said that contract employment has

reduced their hours of work 9 (34) said that outsourced contracts have made them more

vulnerable 3 (11) said part-time work has led them to be peripheral workers and 2 (08) said

casual employment is responsible for the decline of their earnings Of the respondents who possess

technical skills 7 (26) said that contract employment has reduced their hours of work A total of 6

(22) said that outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable 6 (22) felt that casual

employment has reduced their earnings and 2 (07) said part-time work has led to them to be

peripheral workers From those with analytic skills 14 (52) said that contract employment has


vulnerable 8 (3) said casual employment has reduced their earnings and 2 (07) said that part-

time work has led them to be peripheral workers

For those with conceptual and interpersonal skills 12 (45) said that contract employment has


vulnerable 3 (11) said casual employment has reduced their earnings and none said part-time

work has made them peripheral workers A total of 9 (34) who possess industrial relations skills

said contract employment has reduced their hours of work 5 (19) said outsourced contracts have

made them more vulnerable 2 (07) said part-time work has led them to be peripheral workers and

1 (04) said casual employment has reduced hisher earnings A total of 4 (15) respondents who

possess industrial relations skills said that contract employment has reduced their hours of work 1

(04) said that outsourced contracts have made him more vulnerable none said that casual

employment has reduced hisher earnings and none said part-time work has led himher to be a

peripheral worker

146

From the respondents who possess mechanical skills 6 (22) said that contract employment has

reduced the hours of their work 2 (07) said that outsourced contracts have made them more

vulnerable 1 (04) said part-time work has led himher to be a peripheral worker and none said

casual employment has led to the reduction of earnings From the respondents who possess legal

skills 6 (22) said that contract employment has led to the reduction of their hours of work and 1

(04) said casual employment has reduced hisher earnings None said that outsourced contracts

have made himher more vulnerable and none said part-time work has led himher to be a peripheral

worker Of the respondents with managerial skills 2 (07) said that outsourced contracts have

made them more vulnerable and none said contract employment has reduced their hours of work or

that casual employment has reduced their earnings or that part-time work has led them to be

peripheral workers Of the respondents who possess budgeting skills 4 (15) said that contract

employment has reduced their hours of work 2 (07) said casual employment has led to a cut in

earnings 2 (07) said that outsourced contracts have made them more vulnerable and none said

part-time work has led them to be peripheral workers Of those with security skills 3 (11) said

contract employment has reduced their hours of work 1 (04) said that outsourced contracts have

made himher more vulnerable and none said that casual employment or part-time work has led them

to be peripheral workers

Management Rationale behind the Implementation of Labour Market Reforms

Figure 10 Management Rationale for Reforms Implementation

147

Statistics reveal that the rationale given by management in relation to the implementation of reforms

can be classified into productivity labour cost efficiency and competitiveness The percentage

distribution reveals that a total of 102 (336) respondents cited the reduction of labour costs

followed by 90 (296) who cited increased efficiency 78 (257) who identified increased

productivity and 34 (112) who pointed to global competitiveness

The age cross-tabulation reveals that of respondents in the age category of 18 to 27 32 (105)

claim that the rationale was to reduce labour costs 29 (95) said it was to improve efficiency in the

workplace 26 (86) said it was to increase productivity and 13 (43) said it was to be more

competitive in global markets A total of 22 (72) respondents in the age bracket of 28 to 37

claimed that the rationale for the implementation was to increase efficiency in the workplace 19

(63) said it was to reduce labour costs 12 (39) said it was to increase productivity and 8 (26)

claimed it was to be more competitive in the global market

Respondents aged between 38 and 47 are 90 in number 31 (102) are of the opinion that the

rationale for labour market reform implementation in Shell Petroleum Development Company is to

reduce labour costs 28 (92) believed it is to improve productivity 22 (72) claimed that it was

to increase efficiency in the workplace and 4 (13) said it was to be more competitive in the global

market Of respondents in the 48 to 57 age bracket 16 (53) said it was to reduce costs 16 (53)

said it was to improve efficiency in the workplace 11 (36) maintained that it was to increase

productivity and 4 (13) posited that it was to be more competitive in the global market Responses

among those who are over 58 years indicate that 4 (13) are of the opinion that labour reform

implementation in Shell Petroleum Development Company was to reduce labour costs 1 (03) felt

it was to increase productivity and 1 (03) said it was to increase efficiency

When gender was cross-tabulated 46 (151) male respondents cited that it was to reduce labour

costs 37 (122) cited that it was to increase productivity and 34 (112) said it was to increase

efficiency in the workplace Of the female respondents 56 (184) reported that it was to reduce

labour costs 56 (184) said it was to increase efficiency in the workplace and 41 (135) cited

that it was to increase productivity

148

The marital status cross-tabulation of respondents reveals that of those who are single 34 (112)

said that it was done to reduce labour costs ndash this also happens to be the modal class of the

distribution They are closely followed by the 32 (105) who said it was implemented to increase

efficiency in the workplace 24 (79) said that it was done to increase productivity and 16 (53)

said it was done to be more competitive in the global market Of those who are married 63 (207)

said that it was done to reduce labour costs 49 (161) said it was implemented to increase


said it was done to be more competitive in the global market From those who are divorced 3 (1)

said that it was done to increase productivity 2 (07) said that it was done to reduce labour costs

and none said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace or to be more competitive

in the global market From the widowed respondents 3 (1) said that it was done to increase

productivity 1 (03) said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace and none said

that it was done to reduce labour costs or to be more competitive in the global market Of the

respondents who are separated 8 (27) said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the

workplace 5 (16) said that it was done to increase productivity 3 (1) said that it was done to

reduce labour costs and 2 (07) said it was implemented to be more competitive in the global

market

The income cross-tabulation reveals the respondents who earn N18 000 to N50 000 12 (39) said

that it was done to reduce labour costs this also happens to be the modal class of the distribution

They are followed by 6 (2) who said it was implemented to increase productivity 5 (16) who

said that it was done to increase efficiency in the workplace and 4 (13) who said it was done to be

more competitive in the global market A total of 22 (72) respondents who earn N51 000 to N100

000 said that it was done to increase productivity 21 (69) said it was implemented to increase

efficiency in the workplace 19 (63) said that it was done to reduce labour costs and 14 (46)

said it was done to be more competitive in the global market

A total of 21 (69) respondents who earn between N101 000 and N150 000 said it was

implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace 20 (66) said that it was done to reduce labour

costs 9 (3) said that it was done to increase productivity and 5 (16) said it was done to be more

competitive in the global market From the N151 000 to N200 000 earning respondents 34 (112)

149

said that it was done to reduce labour costs 26 (86) said it was implemented to increase efficiency

in the workplace 24 (79) said that it was done to increase productivity and 8 (26) said it was

done to be more competitive in the global market Of the respondents who are earners of N201 000

to N300 000 13 (43) said that it was done to increase productivity 11 (36) said it was


costs and 1 (03) said it was done to be more competitive in the global market Of those who earn

N300 000 8 (26) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 6 (2) said it was implemented to

increase efficiency in the workplace 4 (13) said that it was done to increase productivity and 2

(07) said it was done to be more competitive in the global market

The departmental cross-tabulation reveals that from the admin department 14 (46) said that it

was done to increase productivity 19 (63) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 18 (59)

said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace and 9 (3) said it was done to be

more competitive in the global market From the marketing department 12 (39) said that it was

done to increase productivity 17 (56) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 16 (53) said

it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace and 1 (03) said it was done to be more

competitive in the global market From the finance department 2 (07) said that it was done to

increase productivity 8 (26) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 7 (23) said it was

implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace and 1 (03) said it was done to be more

competitive in the global market From the HRM department 13 (46) asserted that it was done to

increase productivity 20 (66) are of the opinion that it was done to reduce labour costs 14 (46)


more competitive in the global market

From the accounts department 6 (2) posited that it was done to increase productivity 8 (26)

said that it was done to reduce labour costs 7 (23) argued that it was implemented to increase

efficiency in the workplace and 1 (03) said it was done to be more competitive in the global

market From the procurement department 3 (1) asserted that it was done to increase productivity

3 (1) agreed that it was done to reduce labour costs 1 (03) said it was implemented to increase


market From the legal department 2 (07) said that it was done to increase productivity 3 (1)

150

posited that it was done to reduce labour costs 2 (07) said it was implemented to increase

efficiency in the workplace and none said it was done to be more competitive with in the global

market From the engineering department 21 (69) felt that it was done to increase productivity 23

(76) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 23 (76) asserted that it was implemented to

increase efficiency in the workplace and 13 (43) said it was done to be more competitive in the

global market From the logistics department 2 (07) said that it was done to increase productivity

1 (03) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 1 (03) said it was implemented to increase


market From the security department 3 (1) said that it was done to increase productivity and none

said that it was done to reduce labour costs or to be more competitive in the global market Only 1

(03) said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace while none said it was done

When educational information was cross-tabulated with respondents on the rationale behind the

implementation of reforms 64 (211) of the tertiary education respondents assert that the reform is

to increase productivity 8 (26) of the matriculation respondents said the rationale is to increase

productivity and 5 (17) of the secondary education respondents confirm the increase in

productivity of the reform A total of 86 (284) of the tertiary education respondents said the

rationale behind the implementation is to reduce labour costs 9 (30) of the matriculation education

respondents said the rationale is cost-reducing and 7 (23) of the secondary education respondents

are of the opinion that the rationale behind the implementation is to reduce costs while 78 (257)

of the tertiary education respondents are of the opinion that the rationale is to increase efficiency in

the workplace and 6 (2) of both the matriculation and secondary education workers asserted that

the reform had increased efficiency in the workplace A total of 28 (92) of the tertiary education

respondents said the rationale behind the implementation of the reform is to make the company more

competitive in the global market 5 (17) of the matriculates assert the increase in the companyrsquos

competition in the worldwide market and 1 (03) of the secondary education respondents said the

rationale is to be more competitive in the global market

The skills cross-tabulation reveals that of respondents who possess administrative skills 14 (52)

said it was to increase efficiency in the workplace this also happens to be the modal class of the

distribution They are followed by the 13 (49) who asserted that it was done to reduce labour

151

costs and 12 (45) said it was implemented to increase productivity while 8 (3) felt it was done

to be more competitive in the global market Of those who possess marketing skills 15 (56) said

that it was done to reduce labour costs 14 (52) said it was implemented to increase efficiency in

the workplace 9 (34) said that it was done to increase productivity and none said it was done to be


Of those who possess electrical skills 11 (41) said it was implemented to increase efficiency in

the workplace 8 (3) said that it was done to increase productivity 5 (19) said it was done to be

more competitive in the global market and 4 (15) said that it was done to reduce labour costs For

accounting skilled respondents 14 (52) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 6 (22) said

it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace 5 (19) said that it was done to increase

productivity and 2 (07) said it was done to be more competitive in the global market Of the

respondents who possess technical skills 8 (3) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 7

(26) said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace 3 (11) said that it was

done to increase productivity and 3 (11) said it was done to be more competitive in the global

market

Of those who possess analytical skills 10 (37) said that it was done to increase productivity 9

(34) said that it was done to reduce labour costs 8 (3) said it was implemented to increase


market For respondents who possess conceptual skills 6 (22) said it was implemented to increase

productivity and also that it was done to reduce labour costs this also happens to be the modal class

of the distribution They are followed by the 5 (19) who said it was done to increase efficiency in

the workplace and 3 (11) who felt it was done to be more competitive in the global market

A total of 6 (22) from those who possess industrial relations skills said that it was done to reduce

labour costs 5 (19) said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace and to

increase productivity and 1 (04) said it was done to be more competitive in the global market A

total of 3 (11) of those who possess human resources skills said that it was done to increase

productivity 2 (07) said that it was done to reduce labour costs and none said it was implemented

to increase efficiency in the workplace or to be more competitive in the global market

152

For managerial skills 1 (04) said that it was done to reduce labour costs and to increase efficiency

in the workplace From those with budgeting skills a total of 1 (04) said it was done to increase

productivity 2 (07) said it was done to reduce labour costs and 5 (19) said it was done to

increase efficiency in the workplace A total of 3 (11) from those with security skills said it was

done to increase productivity and 1 (04) said it was done to increase efficiency

Were Employees Satisfied by Reasons Given by Employers with Regard to the Implementation

of Reforms

97

551

352Yes

No

Dont Know

Figure 11 Employee Level of Satisfaction

The majority of employees 125 (551) were not satisfied with the reasons given by the employers

with regards to the implementation of reforms A significant proportion of employees 80 (352)

did not know and only 22 (97) were satisfied with the reasons provided The statistics reveal that

the negatives combined 205 (903) far outweigh the positives 22 (97)

The age cross-tabulation of respondents reveals that from the age group 18 to 27 40 (176) are not

satisfied 27 (119) donrsquot know and 10 (44) said yes they are satisfied A total of 29 (128) of

the respondents in the age bracket of 28 to 37 are not satisfied with the reasons given to them as

employees for the implementation of the reforms 11 (48) donrsquot know and 3 (13) are satisfied

with the reasons given to them by management Of the respondents in the 38 to 47 age bracket 41

153

(181) are not satisfied 31 (137) donrsquot know and 4 (18) claimed to be satisfied with the

reasons given to employees for reforms implementation A total of 14 (62) of the respondents in

the 48 to 57 age bracket are not satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees 8 (35)

claim not to know and 5 (22) said they are satisfied with the reason given to them as employees

In the last age group of respondents 58+ 3 (13) donrsquot know 1 (04) is not satisfied and nobody

in this age category seems to be satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees

The gender cross-tabulation of respondents denotes that of the male respondents 56 (247) said

no 37 (163) cited that they did not know while 11 (48) said yes they were satisfied From the

female respondents 69 (304) said no 43 (189) cited that they did not know while 11 (48)

said yes

The marital cross-tabulation denotes that from respondents who are single 34 (112) said that it

was done to reduce labour costs this also happens to be the modal class of the distribution They are

closely followed by 32 (105) who said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace

24 (79) who said that it was done to increase productivity and 16 (53) who said it was done to

be more competitive in the global market A total of 63 (207) of those who are married said that it

was done to reduce labour costs 49 (161) said it was implemented to increase efficiency in the

workplace 43 (141) said that it was done to increase productivity and 16 (53) said it was done

to be more competitive in the global market Of those who are divorced 3 (1) said that it was done

to increase productivity 2 (07) said that it was done to reduce labour costs and none said it was

implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace or to be more competitive in the global market

From the widowed respondents 3 (1) said that it was done to increase productivity 1 (03) said it

was implemented to increase efficiency in the workplace and none said that it was done to reduce

labour costs or to be more competitive in the global market Of the respondents who are separated 8


done to increase productivity 3 (1) said that it was done to reduce labour costs and 2 (07) said it

was done to be more competitive in the global market

The marital status cross-tabulation reveals that most of the single respondents precisely 43 (189)

claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees 26 (115) are

154

indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or

not and 11 (48) affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees

Among the respondents who are married 68 (32) claimed that they were not satisfied with the

reasons given to them as employees 47 (207) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether

they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or not and 11 (48) affirmed that they were

satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees

From the category of respondents who are divorced 2 (09) claimed that they were not satisfied

with the reasons given to them as employees or were indifferent saying they didnrsquot know whether

they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or not None affirmed that they were satisfied with

the reasons given to them as employees In the category of widowed respondents 3 (13) claimed

that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees 1 (04) was indifferent

saying heshe didnrsquot know whether heshe was satisfied with the reasons given or not and none

affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees Among the

respondents who are separated 9 (4) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to

them as employees 4 (18) were indifferent saying they didnrsquot know whether they were satisfied

with the reasons given to them or not and none of them affirmed that they were satisfied with the

reasons given to them as employees

The income level cross-tabulation of the N18 000 to N50 000 earning respondents reveals that most

of the respondents 13 (57) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them as

employees 9 (4) were indifferent saying they didnrsquot know whether they were satisfied with the

reasons given to them or not and 3 (13) affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to

them as employees Among the respondents who are N51 000 to N100 000 earners 42 (185)

claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them 18 (79) were indifferent

saying they didnrsquot know whether they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or not and 2

(09) affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them

The next category of respondents is those who are earners of N101 000 to N150 000 A total of 17

(75) of the respondents claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them 14

(62) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether they were satisfied with the reasons given to

155

them or not and 6 (26) affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them In the

category of N151 000 to N200 000 earning respondents 35 (154) claimed that they were not

satisfied with the reasons given to them 25 (11) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether


satisfied with the reasons given to them Among the respondents who are earners of N201 000 to

N300 000 13 (57) of the respondents claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given

to them 10 (44) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether they were satisfied with the

reasons given to them or not and 2 (09) of them affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons

given to them Among the respondents who are earners of N300 000+ 5 (22) claimed that they

were not satisfied with the reasons given to them 4 (18) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know

whether they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or not and 3 (13) of them affirmed that

they were satisfied with the reasons given to them

The departmental cross-tabulation of the respondents indicates that 3 (13) from the admin

department affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them 32 (141) said no they

were not satisfied with the reasons given to them and 11 (48) are indifferent saying they donrsquot

know whether they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or not In the marketing

department 3 (13) said yes they were satisfied 19 (84) said no and 13 (57) said they donrsquot

know whether the reasons were genuine or not In the finance department 1 (04) affirmed that

heshe was satisfied with the reasons given 3 (13) claimed that they were not satisfied with the

reasons given to them and 6 (26) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether they were

satisfied with the reasons given to them or not

In the HRM department 5 (22) affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them

22 (97) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them and 15 (66) are

indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether or not they were satisfied In the accounts department 3

(13) affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them 9 (4) said no they were

not satisfied with the reasons given to them and 3 (13) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know

whether they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or not In the procurement department

none said they were satisfied 4 (18) said no and 4 (18) said they donrsquot know whether the

reasons were genuine or not In the legal department 1 (04) affirmed that heshe was satisfied

156

with the reasons given 3 (13) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them

and 2 (09) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether they were satisfied with the reasons

given to them or not In the engineering department 6 (26) affirmed that they were satisfied with

the reasons given to them 28 (123) said no they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them


given to them or not

In the logistics department none affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them as

employees 2 (09) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them and 1

(04) is indifferent saying heshe doesnrsquot know whether or not heshe is satisfied with the reasons

given In the security department none said that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them 3

(13) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them and 1 (04) is

indifferent saying heshe doesnrsquot know whether or not heshe was satisfied with the reasons given

The educational cross-tabulation reveals that 18 (8) of the tertiary education respondents said yes

and 2 (09) of both the matriculation and the secondary education respondents said they are

satisfied with the reasons given to them A total of 97 (429) of the tertiary education respondents

said they are not satisfied with the reason given to them 17 (75) of the matriculation education

respondents said no and 10 (44) of the secondary education respondents said no Lastly 68

(301) of the tertiary education respondents said they donrsquot know based on the reasons given to

them and 6 (27) of both the matriculation and secondary education respondents assert that they

donrsquot know if the reasons are genuine

The cross-tabulation of skills of the administrative respondents reveals that most of the respondents

26 (134) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them 8 (41) are


not and 1 (05) affirmed that heshe was satisfied with the reasons given Among the respondents

who have marketing skills 15 (77) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to

them 11 (57) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether they are satisfied with the reasons

given to them or not and 2 (09) affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them

From those who possess electrical skills 9 (46) of the respondents claimed that they were not

157

satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees 8 (42) were indifferent saying they didnrsquot

know whether they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or not and 1 (05) affirmed that

heshe was satisfied with the reasons given

In the category of accounting skilled respondents 9 (46) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know

whether they are satisfied with the reasons given to them or not 7 (36) claimed that they were not

satisfied with the reasons given to them and 2 (1) affirmed that they were satisfied with the reasons

given to them From the respondents who possess technical skills 6 (31) claimed that they were

not satisfied with the reasons given to them 4 (21) were indifferent saying they didnrsquot know

whether they were satisfied with the reasons given to them or not and 3 (21) affirmed that they

were satisfied with the reasons given to them

Among the respondents who possess analytical and design skills 15 (77) claimed that they were

not satisfied with the reasons given to them 11 (57) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know

whether they are satisfied with the reasons given to them or not and 1 (05) affirmed that heshe

was satisfied with the reasons given From the observations above it is worth noting that in general

the majority of the respondents disagreed with the notion that they were satisfied with the reasons

given to them as employees

The conceptual and interpersonal cross-tabulation of respondents reveals that most of the

respondents 9 (46) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them as

employees 5 (26) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether they are satisfied with the


them Among the respondents who have industrial relations skills 6 (31) claimed that they were

not satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees 4 (21) are indifferent saying they donrsquot

know whether they are satisfied with the reasons given to them or not and 1 (05) affirmed that


From those who possess human relations skills 3 (15) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know

whether they are satisfied with the reasons given to them or not 2 (1) of the respondents claimed

that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them and none affirmed that they were satisfied

158

with the reasons given to them In the category of mechanically skilled respondents 5 (26) are

indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether they are satisfied with the reasons given to them or not

3 (15) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them and none affirmed that


Among the respondents who possessed legal skills 3 (15) claimed that they were not satisfied

with the reasons given to them as employees 2 (1) are indifferent saying they donrsquot know whether

they are satisfied with the reasons given to them or not and 1 (05) affirmed that heshe was

satisfied with the reasons given Among the respondents who possess managerial skills 1 (05)

was indifferent saying heshe donrsquot know whether or not heshe was satisfied with the reasons given

and none of the respondents claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them or

that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them

Among the respondents who possessed budgeting skills 2 (1) of them affirmed that they were

satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees 1 (05) claimed that heshe was not satisfied

with the reasons given and none of them were indifferent saying they didnrsquot know whether or not

they were satisfied with the reasons given Among the respondents who possess security skills 3

(15) claimed that they were not satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees 1 (1) was

indifferent saying heshe didnrsquot know whether or not he was satisfied with the reasons given and

none said that they were satisfied with the reasons given to them as employees

159

Were these Reforms Consulted or Negotiated with Labour Formations

376

624

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No

Figure 12 Were these Reforms Consulted or Negotiated with Labour Formations

The age cross-tabulation reveals that 38 (22) in the age bracket 18 to 27 stated that their

employment condition is worse than before and 19 (11) explained that their economic and social

status have not changed as a contract staff member In the age bracket 28 to 37 27 (156) asserted

that their employment condition is worse than before and 13 (75) said their economic and social

status have not improved as a contract staff member Among the respondents in the age bracket 38 to

47 25 (145) gave the reason for their dissatisfaction as their contract of employment being worse

than before and 18 (104) are dissatisfied because their economic and social status have not

changed as a contract staff member A total of 23 (133) respondents in the 48 to 57 age bracket are

not satisfied because their contract of employment is worse than what it was before and 8 (46) are

not satisfied because their economic and social status have not improved

When gender was cross-tabulated 57 (329) respondents said their contract of employment was

worse than before and 32 (185) stated that their economic and social status have not changed as a

contract staff member Among the female respondents a total of 58 (335) reported that their

contract of employment is worse than before and 26 (15) claimed that their economic and social

status have not changed as a contract staff member Only 2 (12) of the respondents above 58 years

160

of age gave the reason for their dissatisfaction as their contract of employment being worse than

before

The marital status cross-tabulation indicates that 41 (237) of the single respondents claimed that

their economic status has not changed as contract staff members and 23 (133) are of the opinion

that their contract of employment is worse than before From the married respondents 66 (382)

are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before and 30 (173) of the

respondents claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff members The next

category of respondents is those who are divorced with 1 (06) asserting that their economic status

has not changed as contract staff members or that their contract of employment is worse than before

In the category of widowed respondents 1 (06) of the respondents claimed that their economic

status has not changed as contract staff members or that their contract of employment is worse than

before Among the respondents who are separated 6 (35) are of the opinion that their contract of

employment is worse than before and 3 (17) claimed that their economic status has not changed as

contract staff members

The income cross-tabulation of the N18 000 to N50 000 earning respondents reveals that most of

the respondents 6 (35) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff

members and 5 (29) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before

Among the N51 000 to N100 000 earning respondents 23 (133) are of the opinion that their

contract of employment is worse than before and 20 (116) of the respondents claimed that their

economic status has not changed as contract staff members The next category of respondents

includes those who earn between N101 000 and N150 000 24 (197) are of the opinion that their

contract of employment is worse than before and 10 (58) claimed that their economic status has

not changed as contract staff members

In the category of N151 000 to N200 000 earning respondents 37 (214) are of the opinion that

their contract of employment is worse than before and 14 (81) claimed that their economic status

has not changed as contract staff members Among the respondents who are N201 000 to N300 000

earners 14 (81) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before and 6

(35) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff members From the

161

respondents who earn N300 000+ 12 (69) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is

worse than before and 2 (12) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff

members

The departments cross-tabulation of the respondents reveals that in the admin department 16 (92)

claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff members and 19 (11) are of the

opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before From the marketing department 5

(29) of the respondents claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff

members and 19 (11) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before In

the finance department 2 (12) of the respondents claimed that their economic status has not

changed as contract staff members and 9 (52) said that their contract of employment is worse than

before From the HRM department 10 (58) of the respondents claimed that their economic status

has not changed as contract staff members and 19 (11) are of the opinion that their contract of

employment is worse than before

In the accounts department 4 (23) asserted that their economic status has not changed as contract

staff members and 11 (64) said that their contract of employment is worse than before From the

procurement department 2 (12) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract

staff members and 1 (06) is of the opinion that hisher contract of employment is worse than

before In the legal department 1 (12) of the respondents claimed that hisher economic status has

not changed as a contract staff member and 2 (12) are of the opinion that their contract of

employment is worse than before From the engineering department 15 (87) of the respondents

claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff members and 32 (185) are of

the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before In the logistics department 1

(06) of the respondents claimed that hisher economic status has not changed as a contract staff

member and 2 (12) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before In

the security department 1 (12) of the respondents asserted that hisher economic status has not

changed as a contract staff member or that hisher contract of employment is worse than before

The educational cross-tabulation indicates that 46 (267) of the tertiary education respondents said

their economic and social status have not changed as contract staff members 10 (55) of the

162

matriculation education respondents assert that their socio-economic status still remains as it was as a

contract staff member and 2 (12) of the secondary education respondents said their economic and

social status have not changed as contract staff members A total of 103 (599) of the tertiary

education respondents said they are not satisfied because their contract of employment is worse than

before 7 (41) of the matriculation education respondents assert that they are not satisfied because

the reform had worsened their contract of employment and 4 (23) of the secondary education

respondents are of the opinion that the reform is not favourable and has thus made their contract of

employment worse than before

The cross-tabulation of the administrative skilled respondents reveals that most of the respondents

14 (9) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff members and 13 (84)

are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before Among the marketing

skilled respondents 17 (11) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than

before and 3 (19) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff members In

the next category of respondents are those who possess electrical skills 11 (71) are of the opinion

that their contract of employment is worse than before or claimed that their economic status has not

changed as contract staff members and 6 (39) claimed that their economic status has not changed

as contract staff members

In the category of accounting skilled respondents 10 (65) are of the opinion that their contract of


contract staff members Among the respondents who are skilled technically 12 (77) are of the

opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before and 3 (19) claimed that their

economic status has not changed as contract staff members From the respondents who possess

analytic and design skills 10 (65) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse

than before and 8 (52) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff

members The cross-tabulation of the conceptual and interpersonally skilled respondents reveals that

most of the respondents 10 (65) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract

staff members and 4 (26) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than

before From the respondents skilled in industrial relations 8 (52) are of the opinion that their

contract of employment is worse than before and 2 (13) claimed that their economic status has not

163

changed as contract staff members From those who possess human resource skills 1 (06) is of the

opinion that hisher contract of employment is worse than before and the same number claimed that

economic status has not changed as a contract staff member In the category of mechanically skilled

respondents 1 (06) is of the opinion that hisher contract of employment is worse than before and

1 (06) claimed that hisher economic status has not changed as a contract staff member Among

the respondents who are legally skilled 2 (13) are of the opinion that their contract of employment

is worse than before and 2 (13) claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract

staff members From the respondents who possess managerial skills 1 (06) is of the opinion that

hisher contract of employment is worse than before and none of the respondents claimed that their


budgeting skills 8 (52) are of the opinion that their contract of employment is worse than before

and none claimed that their economic status has not changed as contract staff members Furthermore

from the respondents who possess security skills 1 (06) is of the opinion that hisher contract of

employment is worse than before and the same number claimed that hisher economic status has not

changed as contract staff members The majority of respondents 161 (624) did not believe that

these reforms were either consulted or negotiated with labour formations A small proportion 97

(376) is of the opinion that these reforms were consulted and negotiated with labour formations

The age cross-tabulated reveals that among respondents aged 18 to 27 53 (205) claim there was

no consultation or negotiation and 33 (128) agreed that there was consultation with the labour

formations Among respondents in the age group 28 to 37years 28 (109) said there was no

consultation with labour formation while 19 (74) said labour formations were consulted In the

age group 38 to 47 years 58 (225) said no there was no consultation while 20 (78) said there

was consultation with labour formation Among the respondents in the age group 48 to 57 years 24

(93) said labour formations were consulted while 19 (74) said there was no consultation with

labour formations For respondents aged 58 years and above 3 (12) asserted that there was no

consultation and 1 (04) said there was consultation with labour formation

The gender cross-tabulation reveals that 81 (314) male respondents said no and 42 (163) of the

male respondents agreed that there was some form of consultation or negotiation with the labour

164

formations A total of 80 (31) of the female respondents said no and 55 (213) said yes there was

consultation

The marital status cross-tabulation indicates that those who are single 55 (213) said no as far as

they know the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 35 (136) of the single

respondents agreed there was consultation Those who are married 90 (349) said no as far as

they know the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 55 (213) said yes From

those who are divorced 4 (16) said no as far as they know the reforms were not consulted with

labour formations and 1 (04) said yes From the widowed respondents 3 (12) said no as far as

they know the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and none of them affirmed that

these reforms were consulted Of the respondents who are separated 9 (35) said no and 6 (23)

said these reforms were consulted with labour formations

The income cross-tabulation reveals that 16 (62) of the respondents whose income is between

N18 000 and N50 000 said these reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 5 (59)

said yes the reforms were consulted Of those who earn N51 000 to N100 000 47 (182) said the

reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 16 (62) said yes Of those who are earners

of N101 000 to N150 000 25 (97) said no as far as they know the reforms were not consulted

with labour formations and 20 (78) said yes From the N151 000 to N200 000 earning

respondents 46 (178) said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 35 (136)

said yes Of the respondents who are earners of N201 000 to N300 000 19 (74) said the reforms

were not consulted with labour formations and 13 (5) said yes Of the respondents who are earners

of N300 000+ all 8 (31) said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 8 (31)

said yes

The departmental cross-tabulation of respondents reveals that in the admin department 30 (116)

said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 17 (66) said yes In the marketing

department 22 (85) said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 14 (54)

said yes there was consultationnegotiation In the finance department 8 (31) said the reforms

were not consulted with labour formations and 8 (31) said yes there was consultationnegotiation

165

In the HRM department 29 (112) said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and

20 (78) affirmed From the accounts department 9 (35) respondents said the reforms were not

consulted with labour formations while 9 (35) asserted yes In the procurement department 7

(27) said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations while none said yes In the legal

department 4 (16) said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations while 2 (08)

said yes Of those in the engineering department 46 (178) said the reforms were not consulted

with labour formations while 26 (105) said yes In the logistics department 3 (12) said the

reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 1 (04) affirmed From the security

department 3 (12) respondents said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and

none affirmed


the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and 89 (346) said yes the reform was

negotiated with labour formations A total of 18 (7) of those with matriculation education

confirmed that labour formation was not consulted and 5 (19) said labour formations was

consulted and negotiated the reforms Lastly 10 (39) of the respondents with secondary education

said that labour formation was not consulted and 3 (12) said yes the reforms were consulted and

negotiated with labour formations

The skill cross-tabulation indicates that 23 (10) of those with administrative skills said the reforms

were not consulted with labour formations and 15 (65) said yes there were

consultationsnegotiations Of those who possess marketing skills 18 (78) said the reforms were

not consultednegotiated with labour formations and 12 (52) said there were consultations From

those who possess electrical skills 15 (106) said the reforms were not consulted with labour

formations and 12 (52) said yes there was consultationnegotiations From the accounting skilled


admitted that there were consultationsnegotiations with the labour formations Among the

respondents who possessed technical skills 10 (43) said yes there was consultationnegotiation

with labour formations and 8 (35) said the reforms were not consultednegotiated with labour

formations A total of 23 (10) analytical and design skills respondents said there was no

consultationnegotiation and 6 (26) asserted that there was consultationnegotiation with labour

166

formations For respondents whose skill is conceptual and interpersonal 12 (52) said the reforms

were not consulted with labour formations while 5 (22) agreed that there was

consultationnegotiation with the labour structures Of those who possess industrial relations skills 8

(35) said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations and similarly the same number

of respondents 8 (35) claimed the reforms were consulted with labour formations Of those who

possess human resources skills 5 (22) said reforms were not consulted with labour formations and

none of the respondents in this skill group agreed that the reforms were consulted with labour

formations

From the mechanically skilled respondents 6 (26) said the reforms were not consulted with labour

formations and 2 (09) agreed that there was consultationnegotiation with the labour formations

Among the legal skills respondents 4 (17) said the reforms were not consulted with labour

formations and 2 (09) admitted that the reforms were consulted with the labour formations A total

of 1 (04) respondent who possessed managerial skills said the reforms were not consulted with

labour formations and the same number of respondents 1 (04) in this skill category said yes there

was consultationnegotiations with labour formations A total of 4 (17) of respondents who

possessed budgeting skills admitted that the reforms were consulted with labour formations and 1

(04) said the reforms were not consulted with labour formations Lastly 3 (13) of respondents

with security skills said that as far as they know the reforms were not consulted with labour

formations and none of the respondents admitted that there was any form of

consultationnegotiations with the labour formations

167

How were the Reforms NegotiatedConsulted

Figure 13 How were the Reforms NegotiatedConsulted

The majority of respondents 53 (522) said that reforms were negotiatedconsulted with trade

union officials and 43 (448) said it was done between employers and the government excluding

labour formations

From the age cross-tabulation of respondents who are between 18 and 27 years 20 (208) said

there was consultationnegotiation with the trade union officials and 12 (125) said the negotiation

took place between the employers and the government A total of 10 (104) in the age bracket 28 to

37 claim that negotiation was done between employers and the government and 9 (94) said the

negotiation took place with the trade union officials A total of 11 (115) and 9 (94) in the 38 to

47 age bracket admitted that negotiations were held with trade union officials and between

employers and the government respectively Of the respondents aged between 48 and 57 13 (135)

said that consultationnegotiations were held with trade union officials and 11 (115) were of the

opinion that negotiation took place between the employers and the government Only 1 (1) of

respondents who is 58 years and above is of the opinion that there was negotiations between the

employers and the government while none of the respondents from this category said there was

consultationnegotiation with union officials

168

The gender cross-tabulation reveals that 25 (26) male respondents claimed that there was

negotiation with trade union officials and 17 (177) said negotiations took place between

employers and the government Of the female respondents 28 (292) said there were

consultationnegotiations with trade union officials and 26 (271) said negotiation took place

between the employer and government

The marital status cross-tabulation reveals that of respondents who are single 20 (215) said that it

was consulted with trade unions officials and 14 (151) said it was negotiated between employers

and the government Of those who are married (323) said that it was consulted with trade union

officials and 23 (247) said it was negotiated between employers and the government From those

who are divorced 1 (11) said it was negotiated between employers and the government and none

said that it was consulted with trade union officials From the respondents who are separated 3

(32) said it was negotiated between employers and the government and 2 (22) said that it was

consulted with trade union officials

The income cross-tabulation reveals that of respondents who earn N18 000 to N50 000 3 (31)

said that it was consulted with trade union officials and 2 (21) said it was negotiated between

employers and the government Of those who earn N51 000 to N100 000 7 (73) said that it was

consulted with trade union officials and 9 (94) said it was negotiated between employers and the

government Of those who are earners of N101 000 to N150 000 12 (125) said that it was


government From the respondents who are earners of N151 000 to N200 000 a total of 18 (188)


employers and the government

From the respondents who are earners of N201 000 to N300 000 a total of 8 (83) said that it was


government Of those who are earners of N300 000+ a total of 5 (52) said that it was consulted

with trade union officials and 3 (31) said it was negotiated between employers and the

government

169

The departmental cross-tabulation reveals that in the admin department 8 (83) said that it was


government In the marketing section 9 (94) said that it was consulted with trade union officials

and 5 (52) said it was negotiated between employers and the government In the finance

department 3 (31) said that it was consulted with trade union officials and 5 (52) said it was

negotiated between employers and the government In the HRM department 11 (115) said that it

was consulted with trade union officials and 9 (94) said it was negotiated between employers and

the government In the accounts department 4 (42) said that it was consulted with trade union

officials and 5 (52) said it was negotiated between employers and the government In the legal

department 2 (21) said that it was consulted with trade union officials and none said it was

negotiated between employers and the government In the engineering department 16 (167) said

that it was consulted with trade union officials and 9 (94) said it was negotiated between

employers and the government In the logistics department none said that it was consulted with trade

union officials and 1 (1) said it was negotiated between employers and the government

The educational cross-tabulation denotes 47 (49) of the tertiary education respondents said

negotiationconsultation was done with the trade union officials and 41 (427) said that

consultationnegotiation was done between employers and the government A total of 4 (42) of the

matriculation education respondents asserted that the reform committee consulted with the trade

union officials and 1 (1) said there was negotiation between employers and the government Lastly

2 (21) with secondary education said trade union officials were consulted and 1 (1) said there

was negotiation between employers and the government

For respondents who possess administrative skills 8 (91) said it was negotiated between

employers and the government and 6 (8) said that it was consulted with trade union officials Of

those possessing marketing skills 8 (91) said that it was consulted with trade union officials and 4

(45) said it was negotiated between employers and the government Of those who possess

electrical skills 8 (91) said that it was consulted with trade union officials and 4 (45) said it was

negotiated between employers and the government Of the respondents who possess accounting

skills 8 (91) said it was negotiated between employers and the government and 4 (45) said that

it was consulted with trade union officials From the respondents who possess technical skills 8

170

(91) said that it was consulted with trade union officials and 2 (23) said it was negotiated

between employers and the government From the analytic and design skills respondents 3 (34)

said it was negotiated between employers and the government and 2 (23) said that it was consulted

with trade union officials

From the respondents who possess conceptual and interpersonal skills 3 (34) said it was

negotiated between employers and the government and 2 (23) said that it was consulted with trade

union officials From those possessing industrial relations skills 5 (57) said it was negotiated

between employers and the government and 3 (34) said that it was consulted with trade union

officials Of the respondents with mechanical skills 2 (23) said it was negotiated between

employers and the government and none said that it was consulted with trade union officials Of the

respondents who possess legal skills 2 (23) said it was consulted with trade union officials and

none said the negotiations took place between the employer and government In the managerial skills

category 1 (11) said reforms were negotiated between the employer and government and the same

number said that the reforms were negotiated with the union officials Among respondents

possessing budgeting skills 3 (34) said that it was consulted with trade union officials and 1

(11) said it was negotiated between employers and the government

Impact of Labour Market Reforms on Terms and Conditions of Employment

Figure 14 Impact of Labour Market Reforms on Terms and Conditions of Employment

171

The majority of respondents 135 (455) are of the view that the reforms have led to the decline of

permanent employment at Shell Petroleum Development Company Secondly a significant

proportion of respondents 59 (199) are also of the view that the reforms have been accompanied

by stagnation of wage levels Thirdly a total of 52 (175) respondents are convinced that the labour

market reforms have led to the loss of the pace of work Lastly 51 (172) respondents cited the

reduction of the quality of working life as the major problem associated with labour market reform

implementation at Shell Petroleum Development Company

The age cross-tabulation reveals that 49 (165) respondents between the age of 18 and 27 are of the

opinion that the reforms have a declining effect on permanent employment 19 (64) said reforms

led to loss of control over the pace of work 16 (54) claim that the reforms led to stagnation and

decline of real wages and 14 (47) said reforms led to a reduction in the quality of work A total of

27 (91) of the respondents in the age bracket of 28 to 37 feel that the reforms have reduced the

level of permanent employment 13 (44) claim reforms led to the stagnation and decline of real

wages 9 (3) said it has reduced the quality of working life and 8 (27) said reforms led to the loss

of control over the pace of work A total of 34 (114) among respondents in the age bracket 38 to

47 said reforms led to the decline in permanent employment 20 (67) claim reforms led to

stagnation and decline of real wages 18 (61) opine that it brings about reduction in the quality of

working life and 17 (57) said it causes loss of control over the pace of work Among respondents

in the age bracket 48 to 57 a total of 23 (77) said the impact of the reform is the declining of

permanent employment 9 (3) said it has reduced the quality of working life 8 (27) claim it

brings about loss of control over the pace of work and 7 (24) said it leads to stagnation and decline

in wages Lastly 3 (1) of respondents above 58 years subscribes to the idea that the reforms bring

about stagnation and decline in real wages 2 (07) identified decline in permanent employment as

the impact of the reforms implementation and 1 (03) considered the reduction in the quality of

working life as the impact of the labour reforms

The gender cross-tabulation reveals that 67 (226) of the male respondents are of the opinion that

the reforms brought about the decline of permanent employment and 25 (84) pointed that the

reforms brought about stagnation and decline of real wages A total of 23 (77) said that the

172

reforms have led to the loss of control over the pace of work and 20 (67) said it brought about

reduction in the quality of working life Of the female respondents 68 (229) said the reforms

brought about a decline of permanent employment 34 (114) highlighted that the reforms have led

to the stagnation and decline of real wages 31 (104) posited that the reforms have reduced the

quality of working life and 29 (98) cited that the reforms have caused loss of control over the pace

of work

The marital status cross-tabulation reveals that the majority of the single respondents 52 (175)

cited the decline of permanent employment associated with reforms 18 (61) of the respondents

claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages and also the loss of control over the pace

of work respectively and 15 (51) said reforms are synonymous with the reduction of the quality

of working life The marital status cross-tabulation of married respondents reveals that the majority

of the married respondents 75 (253) cited the decline of permanent employment 35 (118)

claimed that it leads to stagnation and 29 (98) said that reforms led to the decline of real wages

and the loss of control over the pace of work respectively The marital status cross-tabulation of the

divorced respondents reveals that most of the respondents 3 (1) said that reforms led to the

reduction in the quality of working life and 1 (03) respondent claimed that reforms are

synonymous with the decline of permanent employment and loss of control over the pace of work

respectively None of the respondents cited the stagnation and decline of real wages as a problem

The cross-tabulation of widowed respondents reveals that 2 (07) said reforms led to the decline of

permanent employment and 1 (03) claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages

and loss of control over the pace of work None of the respondents cited the problems associated

with the reduction in the quality of working life From the separated respondents 5 (17) cited the

decline of permanent employment and stagnation and decline of real wages respectively A total of 4

(13) said reforms have an impact on the reduction in the quality of working life Lastly 3 (1) of

the widowed said that because of reforms they have lost control over the pace of work

The income cross-tabulation with what has been the impact of the reforms on the terms and

conditions of employment of respondents reveals that the majority of the respondents who earn

between N18 000 and N50 000 11 (37) cited the decline of permanent employment 6 (2)

173

claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages 6 (2) also said reforms have led to the

loss of control over the pace of work and 4 (13) said reforms have led to the reduction of the

quality of working life

The income cross-tabulation also reveals that the majority of the N51 000 to N100 000 earning

respondents who total 31 (104) cited the decline of permanent employment 17 (57) claimed

that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages 15 (51) cited the loss of control over the pace

of work and 12 (4) cited the reduction in the quality of working life The income cross-tabulation

with N101 000 to N150 000 earners reveals that most of the respondents 26 (88) claimed that

reforms have led to the decline of permanent employment Following is 11 (37) of them who cited

stagnation and decline of real wages 10 (34) who cited the reduction in the quality of working life

and lastly another 6 (2) who cited the loss of control over the pace of work

The cross-tabulation of earners of N151 000 to N200 000 reveals that 42 (141) cited the decline

of permanent employment 17 (57) said reforms led to the loss of control over the pace of work

another 15 (51) claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages and 15 (51) of them

said reforms led to the reduction in the quality of working life The modal group of N201 000 to

N300 000 earners are the 18 (61) who cited the decline of permanent employment followed by

the 7 (24) who cited the reduction in the quality of working life and 5 (17) who said that the

reforms led to stagnation and decline of real wages A total of 3 (1) respondents said reforms have

led to the loss of control over the pace of work For N300 000+ earners 7 (24) cited the decline of

permanent employment as a problem associated with reforms 5 (17) claimed that it leads to

stagnation and decline of real wages 5 (17) also said reforms led to the loss of control over the

pace of work and 3 (1) felt reforms are synonymous with the reduction of the quality of working

life

The department cross-tabulation reveals that in the admin department 29 (98) cited the decline of

permanent employment 13 (44) claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages 9

(3) said reforms led to the loss of control over the pace of work and 7 (24) said reforms led to

the reduction in the quality of working life In the marketing department 22 (74) cited the decline

of permanent employment 8 (27) claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages 9

174

(3) cited loss of control over the pace of work and 7 (24) cited the reduction in the quality of

working life

From the finance department 6 (2) of the respondents cited the decline of permanent employment

as a problem associated with reforms implementation 4 (13) cited stagnation and decline of real

wages just 2 (07) affirmed the loss of control over the pace of work and lastly 3 (1) cited the

reduction in the quality of working life From the HRM department 23 (77) cited the decline of


(24) cited the loss of control over the pace of work and 13 (44) said reduction in the quality of

working life In the accounts department 11 (37) said decline of permanent employment 5 (17)

claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages 4 (13) said reforms have led to the

loss of control over the pace of work and 1 (03) said reforms are synonymous with the reduction

in the quality of working life

In the procurement department 1 (03) cited the decline of permanent employment 3 (1)

claimed that reforms have led to the stagnation and decline of real wages 1 (03) said reforms have

led to the loss of control over the pace of work and 3 (1) said reforms have led to the reduction in

the quality of working life In the legal department 3 (1) cited the decline of permanent

employment 1 (03) claimed that the reforms have led to the stagnation and decline of real wages

1 (03) said reforms have led to the loss of control over the pace of work and 2 (07) cited the

reduction in the quality of working life From the engineering department 37 (125) of the

respondents cited the decline of permanent employment 12 (4) said stagnation and decline of real

wages 15 (51) cited the loss of control over the pace of work and lastly 15 (51) said reduction

in the quality of working life In the logistics department 1 (03) of the respondents claimed that

reforms have led to the decline of permanent employment and 1 (03) cited stagnation and decline

of real wages 3 (1) cited the loss of control over the pace of work and lastly none of the

respondents cited the reduction in the quality of working life In the security department 2 (07) of

the respondents felt that the reforms have led to the decline of permanent employment 1 (03)

cited stagnation and decline of real wages 3 (1) cited loss of control over the pace of work and

none of the respondents felt that reforms have led to reduction in the quality of working life

175

Of the educational cross-tabulation 115 (389) respondents with tertiary education said the reform

had brought about decline of permanent employment 16 (54) of the matriculated education

respondents asserted that the reforms have led to the reduction of permanent employment and 4

(14) of the secondary education respondents said the reforms have led to the decline of permanent

employment A total of 46 (155) tertiary education respondents said the reforms have brought

about stagnation and decline of real wages 8 (27) of those with secondary education asserted that

the reforms have caused stagnation and decline of real wages and 5 (17) of the matriculation

education respondents said the reforms have led to decline and stagnation of real wages A total of 44

(149) respondents with tertiary education cited that the reforms have brought about loss of control

over the pace of work 4 (14) of the secondary education respondents said the implementation of

the reforms causes loss of control over the pace of work and 3 (1) of the matriculation education

respondents said the reforms resulted in loss of control over the pace of work Furthermore 44

(149) of the respondents with tertiary education cited that the reforms have brought about

reduction in the quality of working life 4 (14) of the matriculation education respondents said the

reforms have brought about reduction in the quality of working life and 3 (1) of the respondents

with secondary education agreed that the reforms have brought about a reduction in the quality of

working life


skills 26 (10) cited the decline of permanent employment 8 (31) of the respondents claimed

that reforms have led to stagnation and decline of real wages 6 (23) cited the loss of control over

the pace of work or the reduction in the quality of working life respectively The cross-tabulation

also reveals that the majority of those with marketing skills 18 (69) cited the decline of

permanent employment 8 (31) of the respondents claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline

of real wages 6 (23) cited the loss of control over the pace of work or the reduction in the quality

of working life respectively The cross-tabulation with electrically skilled respondents reveals that

14 (54) cited the decline of permanent employment 5 (19) cited the loss of control over the

pace of work 4 (15) cited the reduction in the quality of working life and lastly 4 (15) cited

stagnation and decline of real wages

The cross-tabulation of accounting skilled respondents reveals that 15 (58) cited the decline of

permanent employment 4 (15) cited loss of control over the pace of work 3 (12) claimed that it

176

leads to stagnation and decline of real wages and 2 (08) said reform led to the reduction in the

quality of working life The modal group of technically skilled respondents are the 8 (31) who

cited the decline of permanent employment followed by the 6 (23) who said loss of control over

the pace of work and 5 (19) who asserted that the reforms led to stagnation and decline of real

wages A total of 2 (08) respondents from this group cited the reduction in the quality of working

life For the analytic and design skilled 15 (58) cited the decline of permanent employment 7

(27) loss of control over the pace of work 6 (23) claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline

of real wages and 6 (23) affirmed that reforms led to the reduction in the quality of working life

Of those who possess conceptual skills 10 (38) cited the decline of permanent employment 4

(15) claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages or reduction in the quality of

working life respectively and 2 (08) cited the loss of control over the pace of work The cross-

tabulation also reveals that in the modal class of the industrial relations skilled respondents 6 (23)

cited the decline of permanent employment 5 (19) reduction in the quality of working life 3

(12) loss of control over the pace of work and 2 (08) respondents claimed that it leads to

stagnation and decline of real wages The cross-tabulation with human resources skilled respondents

reveals that 2 (08) of the respondents cited reduction in the quality of working life 1 (04)

claimed the decline of permanent employment loss of control over the pace of work and the


The cross-tabulation of mechanically skilled respondents reveals that 4 (15) of the respondents

claimed that it leads to stagnation and decline of real wages 3 (12) said decline of permanent

employment 1 (04) said loss of control over the pace of work and 1 (04) said reduction in the

quality of working life The modal group of legally skilled respondents are the 3 (12) who said

decline of permanent employment They however are followed by the 2 (08) who said reduction

in the quality of working life and 1 (04) who said that the reforms led to stagnation decline of real

wages or loss of control over the pace of work respectively From the managerial skills 1 (04)

cited the decline of permanent employment and reduction in the quality of working life respectively

and none cited the loss of control over the pace of work and that it leads to stagnation and decline of

real wages

177

From those with budgeting skills 3 (12) of the respondents claimed that it leads to stagnation and

decline of real wages and loss of control over the pace of work respectively Only 1 (04) of them

said reforms led to the reduction in the quality of working life None cited the decline of permanent

employment The modal group of security skilled respondents are the 2 (08) who cited the decline

of permanent employment followed by the 1 (04) who said that reforms led to stagnation and

decline of real wages and loss of control over the pace of work respectively None of the

respondents in this skills category cited the reduction in the quality of working life

Impression of Workers on the Use of SegmentedContract Workers in Shell

Figure 15 Impression of Workers on the Use of SegmentedContract Workers in Shell

A total of 152 (50) of respondents are of the view that the use of segmentedcontract workers at

Shell Petroleum Development Company has reduced the overall cost of running the company

Furthermore 87 (286) workers cited that this practice has led to poor staff morale 45 (148) are

of the opinion that it increases productivity through exploitation and 20 (66) affirmed that working

for the company is now unpleasant since the use of segmentedcontract labour

The age cross-tabulation reveals that from the age bracket 18 to 27 52 (171) have the impression

that it reduces the overall cost of running the company 29 (95) are of the impression that it leads

to poor staff morale 14 (46) have the impression that it increases productivity through

exploitation of workers and 5 (16) say that it makes working for the company unpleasant Among

178

the respondents between 28 and 37 years 27 (89) have the impression that the use of

segmentedcontract workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company reduces the overall cost of

running the company 24 (79) have the impression that the use of segmented or contract workers

in Shell Petroleum Development Company has led to poor staff morale 8 (26) are of the opinion

that segmented workers increase productivity through exploitation of workers and 2 (07) of the

respondent assert that the use of contract workers has made working for the company unpleasant

Among the respondents between 38 and 47 years 42 (138) are of the opinion that the use of

contract workers reduces the overall cost of running the company 24 (79) agreed that segmented

workers has led to poor staff morale 13 (43) have the impression that contract workers increase

productivity through exploitation of workers and 11 (36) assert that contract workers have made

working for the company unpleasant From the age bracket 48 to 57 years 28 (92) are of the

opinion that the use of contract workers reduces the overall cost of running the company 9 (3)

agreed that segmented workers increase productivity through exploitation of workers and have led to

poor staff morale and 1 (03) settled on the impression that the use of contract workers has made

working for the company unpleasant Among the age 58 years and above 3 (1) of the respondents

have the impression that the use of segmented workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company

reduces the overall cost of running the company 1 (03) believed that the use of contract workers

in Shell Petroleum Development Company increases the productivity through exploitation of

workers has led to poor staff morale and has made working for the company very unpleasant

respectively

The gender cross-tabulation results show that 72 (237) of the male respondents have the

impression that it reduces the overall cost of running the company 38 (125) are of the opinion that

it has led to poor staff morale 18 (59) highlighted that it increases productivity through

exploitation of workers and 10 (33) said working for the company as a contract worker has

become unpleasant From the female respondents 80 (263) have the impression that the use of

contract workers reduces the overall cost of running the company 49 (161) have the impression

that it has led to poor staff morale 27 (89) said it increases productivity through exploitation of

workers and 10 (33) think that the use of contract workers made working for the company

unpleasant

179


said it reduced the overall cost of running the company 33 (109) claimed that it has led to poor

staff morale 15 (49) said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers and 5 (16)

said working for the company is now unpleasant From the analysis it could be observed that the

modal class as represented in the distribution is those who are single and said that the use of

segmented workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company has led to a reduction in the overall

cost of running the company

The marital status cross-tabulation of married respondents reveals that the majority of the married

respondents 88 (289) said it reduced the overall cost of running the company A total of 46

(151) of the respondents claimed that it has led to poor staff morale 25 (82) said it increases

productivity through exploitation of workers and 12 (39) said working for the company is now

unpleasant The marital status cross-tabulation with divorced respondents reveals that most of the

respondents precisely 2 (07) said it reduced the overall cost of running the company another 2

(07) claimed that it increased productivity through exploitation of workers none said it has led to

poor staff morale and 1 (03) said working for the company is now unpleasant

The cross-tabulation of widowed respondents shows that 3 (1) of the respondents said it reduced

the overall cost of running the company and 1 (03) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale

None said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers or that working for the company

is now unpleasant The separated respondents are led by the 7 (23) who said it has led to poor staff

morale followed by the 6 (2) who said that the reforms have led to reduction in the overall cost of

running the company There are 3 (1) respondents in this group who said it increases productivity

through exploitation of workers Lastly 2 (07) persons said that since the reforms were

implemented working for the company is now unpleasant

The income cross-tabulation reveals that the majority 10 (33) of the N18 000 to N50 000

income earners said it reduces the overall cost of running the company and has led to poor staff

morale respectively A total of 5 (16) said it increases productivity through exploitation of

workers and 2 (07) said working for the company is now unpleasant From the analysis it could

be observed that the modal class as represented in the distribution is those who said that the use of

180


cost of running the company The income cross-tabulation with N51 000 to N100 000 respondents

reveals that the majority 33 (109) said it reduced the overall cost of running the company 28

(92) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale 10 (33) said it increases productivity through

exploitation of workers and 5 (16) said working for the company is now unpleasant The cross-

tabulation with N101 000 to N150 000 earning respondents reveals that most of the respondents

precisely 31 (102) said it reduced the overall cost of running the company A total of 13 (43)

said it has led to poor staff morale 6 (2) claimed that it increases productivity through exploitation

of workers and 5 (16) said working for the company is now unpleasant

The cross-tabulation of N151 000 to N200 000 reveals that the majority 45 (148) of the

respondents said it reduced the overall cost of running the company and 25 (82) claimed that it has

led to poor staff morale A total of 17 (56) said it increases productivity through exploitation of

workers and 5 (16) said working for the company is now unpleasant The respondents who earn

N201 000 to N300 000 are led by the 22 (72) who said that the reforms led to a reduction in the

overall cost of running the company They are followed by the 7 (23) who said it has led to poor

staff morale Next are those who said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers There

are 3 (1) respondents in this group Lastly 2 (07) persons say that working for the company is

now unpleasant

When department was cross-tabulated with respondentsrsquo impression of the use of segmentedcontract

workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company the various responses from each department

were recorded as below In the admin department 25 (82) said it reduces the overall cost of

running the company 8 (26) said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers 24

(79) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale and 3 (1) said working for the company is now

unpleasant In the marketing department 26 (86) said it reduces the overall cost of running the

company 6 (2) said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers 11 (36) claimed

that it has led to poor staff morale and 3 (1) said working for the company is now unpleasant In

the finance department 8 (26) said it reduces the overall cost of running the company 3 (1)

claimed that it increases productivity through exploitation of workers 5 (16) said it has led to poor

staff morale and 2 (07) said working for the company is now unpleasant In the human resources

181

management department 29 (95) said it reduces the overall cost of running the company 7 (23)

claimed that it increases productivity through exploitation of workers 16 (53) said it has led to

poor staff morale and 2 (07) said working for the company is now unpleasant From the accounts

department 13 (43) said it reduces the overall cost of running the company 3 (1) said it

increases productivity through exploitation of workers 5 (16) claimed that it has led to poor staff

morale and 1 (03) said working for the company is now unpleasant In the procurement

department 3 (1) said it reduces the overall cost of running the company 1 (03) said it increases

productivity through exploitation of workers 2 (07) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale

and 2 (07) said working for the company is now unpleasant In the legal department 3 (1) said it

reduces the overall cost of running the company 1 (03) said it increases productivity through

exploitation of workers 1 (03) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale and 2 (07) said

working for the company is now unpleasant In the engineering department 40 (132) said it



working for the company is now unpleasant In the logistics department 2 (07) said it reduces the

overall cost of running the company 2 (07) said it increases productivity through exploitation of

workers 1 (03) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale and none said working for the company

is now unpleasant In the security department 3 (1) said it reduces the overall cost of running the

company none said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers 1 (03) claimed that

it has led to poor staff morale and none said working for the company is now unpleasant

The educational cross-tabulation reveals that 129 (426) of the tertiary education respondents are of

the impression that the use of contract workers reduces the overall running cost of the company 14

(46) of the matriculation education respondents assert that segmented workers in Shell Petroleum

Development Company has brought about a reduction in the cost of running the company and 8

(26) of the secondary education respondents have the opinion that the use of contract staff has cut

down the running cost of the company Of the tertiary education respondents 40 (132) said the

use of segmented workers has increased productivity through exploitation of workers 3 (1) of the

matriculation education respondents said the use of segmented workers has increased production

though worker exploitation and 2 (07) of the secondary education respondents also agreed that

using segmented workers has increased the companyrsquos production through staff exploitation Also

182

70 (231) of the tertiary education respondents believed that the use of segmented workers has led

to poor staff morale 10 (33) of the matriculation education respondents have the impression that

contract staff usage has led to poor staff morale and 7 (23) of the secondary education

respondents said the use of segmented staff caused poor staff morale in the company Of the tertiary

education respondents 17 (56) said the use of segmented staff has made working for the company

unpleasant 2 (07) of the secondary education respondents are of the opinion that the use of

contract staff made working boring and 1 (03) of the matriculation education respondents said

contract workers have made working for the company unpleasant

The skills cross-tabulation reveals that the majority of the administrative skilled respondents 20

(75) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale 19 (71) said it reduced the overall cost of

running the company 7 (26) said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers and 1

(04) said working for the company is now unpleasant From the analysis it could be observed that

the modal class as represented in the distribution is those who said that the use of segmented workers

in Shell Petroleum Development Company has led to poor staff morale The skills cross-tabulation

with marketing skilled respondents reveals the following the majority of them 24 (9) said it

reduced the overall cost of running the company 8 (3) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale

3 (11) said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers and 3 (11) said working for

the company is now unpleasant Cross-tabulation with electrical skilled respondents reveals that most

of the respondents precisely 14 (52) said it reduced the overall cost of running the company

another 9 (34) said it has led to poor staff morale 5 (19) claimed that it increases productivity

through exploitation of workers and none said working for the company is now unpleasant Next is

the cross-tabulation of accounting skilled respondents with the question raised above 13 (49) of

the respondents said it reduced the overall cost of running the company 7 (26) claimed that it has

led to poor staff morale 4 (15) said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers and 3

(11) said working for the company is now unpleasant The respondents who possess technical

skills are led by the 11 (41) who said that the reforms led to reduction in the overall cost of

running the company They are followed by the 6 (22) who said it increases productivity through

exploitation of workers Next are those who said it has led to poor staff morale There are 4 (15)

respondents in this group Lastly none of the respondents said that working for the company is now

unpleasant The majority of the analytic and design skilled respondents 16 (6) said it reduced the

183

overall cost of running the company 10 (37) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale 5 (19)

said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers and 3 (11) said working for the

company is now unpleasant From the analysis it could be observed that the modal class as

represented in the distribution is those who said that the use of segmented workers in Shell

Petroleum Development Company has led to a reduction in the overall cost of running the company

The skills cross-tabulation with conceptual skilled respondents reveals the following the majority of

them 12 (45) said it reduced the overall cost of running the company 6 (22) of the respondents

claimed that it has led to poor staff morale 2 (07) said working for the company is now unpleasant

and 0 said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers Cross-tabulation with industrial

relations skilled respondents reveals that most of the respondents precisely 9 (34) said it reduces

the overall cost of running the company another 4 (15) said it has led to poor staff morale 4

(15) claimed that it increases productivity through exploitation of workers and none said working

for the company is now unpleasant Next is the cross-tabulation of human resource skilled

respondents with the question raised above Of these respondents 3 (11) said it reduces the overall

cost of running the company 1 (04) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale 1 (04) said

working for the company is now unpleasant and none said it increases productivity through

exploitation of workers The respondents who possess mechanical skills are led by the 3 (11) who

said that the reforms led to reduction in the overall cost of running the company They are followed

by the 2 (07) who said it has led to poor staff morale Next are those who said it increases

productivity through exploitation of workers and there are 2 (07) respondents in this group Lastly

2 (07) persons say that working for the company is now unpleasant

The cross-tabulation of those with legal skills denotes that 3 (11) of the respondents said it reduces

the overall cost of running the company 2 (07) said working for the company is now unpleasant

and 1 (04) said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers and that it has led to poor

staff morale respectively The respondents who possess managerial skills are 2 (07) who said that

the reforms have led to reduction in the overall cost of running the company None said it has led to

poor staff morale none said it increases productivity through exploitation of workers and none said

that the working conditions in the company are now unpleasant For those with budgeting skills 5

(19) of the respondents said it reduces the overall cost of running the company 2 (07) said it

184


morale and none said working for the company is now unpleasant

For security skilled respondents 3 (11) said it reduces the overall cost of running the company 1

(04) claimed that it has led to poor staff morale none said it increases productivity through

exploitation of workers and none said working for the company is now unpleasant

Figure 16 The Effects of Reforms on Earnings of Employees

Statistics reveal that the majority of the respondents 133 (454) cited that their earnings have

always been fixed A significant number of respondents 89 (304) felt that their earnings are no

longer the same because they work different hours Lastly 71 (242) of the respondents are battling

to feed themselves and their families

The age cross-tabulation among the respondents between 18 and 27 years reveals that 46 (157) of

the respondents asserted that their earnings have been fixed since the implementation of the reform

A further 33 (113) were of the opinion that their earnings are no longer fixed because they now

work different hours and 19 (65) asserted that since the implementation of the reforms they are

battling to feed themselves and their families From the respondents who are between 28 and 37

years 25 (85) said that their earnings have always been fixed and 19 (65) said their earnings

are no longer fixed because they now work different hours since the implementation of the reform

185

Lastly 13 (44) of the respondents complained that they battle to feed themselves and their

families since the implementation of the reforms

From those between the age of 38 and 47 years 38 (13) asserted that their earnings have always

been fixed since the implementation of the reform 25 (85) were of the opinion that the

implementation of the reforms made their earnings no longer fixed As things stand they now work

different hours and hence they battle to feed themselves and their families Among the respondents

whose ages are 48 to 57 years 21 (72) asserted that their earnings have always been fixed since

the implementation of the reforms and 12 (41) said their income is insecure because they now

work different hours As things stand feeding their families is difficult From the age 58 and above

3 (1) said their earnings have always been fixed since the implementation of reforms and 2 (07)

said they are battling to feed their families None of the respondents said that their earnings are no

longer fixed because of working different hours

The gender cross-tabulation shows that of the male respondents 61 (208) said their earnings have

always been fixed 37 (126) cited that their earnings are no longer fixed because they now work in

different hours and 33 (113) claimed that they struggle to feed themselves and their families Of

the female respondents 72 (246) posited that their earnings have always been fixed since the

reform implementation 52 (177) said their earnings are no longer fixed because of the different

hours of work and 38 (13) are struggling to feed their families

The marital cross-tabulation reveals that most of the single respondents 47 (16) said their earnings

have always been fixed 36 (123) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because they now

work different hours and 19 (65) said they battle to feed their families and themselves The marital

status cross-tabulation with married respondents reveals that the majority of the married respondents

77 (263) said their earnings have always been fixed 45 (154) claimed that earnings are no

longer fixed because they now work different hours and 42 (256) said feeding themselves and

their families is now a challenge The marital status cross-tabulation with divorced respondents

reveals that 3 (1) said they battle to feed themselves and their families 2 (07) claimed that their

earnings have always been fixed and said earnings are no longer fixed because they now work

different hours respectively

186

The cross-tabulation of widowed respondents shows that 2 (07) said their earnings have always

been fixed 1 (03) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different

hours and that they are battling to feed themselves and their families respectively Lastly for

separated respondents 7 (24) pointed out that their earnings are no longer fixed because they now

work different hours 6 (2) said they battle to feed themselves and their families and 5 (17) cited

that their earnings have always been fixed

The income cross-tabulating reveals that most of the N18 000 to N50 000 earning respondents 12

(41) said their earnings have always been fixed 10 (34) claimed that earnings are no longer

fixed because they now work different hours and 5 (17) said that they battle to feed themselves

and their families The income status cross-tabulation with N51 000 to N100 000 earners reveals

that the majority of the respondents 28 (96) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because

they now work different hours 27 (92) said their earnings have always been fixed and 19 (65)

cited that they battle to feed themselves and their families The income status cross-tabulation among

N101 000 to N150 000 earning respondents reveals that 24 (82) of the respondents claimed that

their earnings have always been fixed 17 (58) said earnings are no longer fixed because they now

work different hours and 10 (34) said they battle to feed their families and themselves

The cross-tabulation of respondents who earn N151 000 to N200 000 reveals that 43 (147) said

their earnings have always been fixed 24 (82) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because

they now work different hours and 23 (78) said they battle to feed their families and themselves

For the N201 000 to N300 000 earners 20 (68) said their earnings have always been fixed 8

(27) said they battle to feed their families and themselves and 6 (2) said earnings are no longer

fixed because they now work different hours Lastly from the respondents who earn N300 000+ a

total of 7 (24) cited that their earnings have always been fixed 4 (14) said their earnings are no

longer fixed because they now work different hours and 6 (2) complained that they battle to feed

their families and themselves

The departmental cross-tabulation reveals that in the administration department 24 (82) said their

earnings have always been fixed 22 (75) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because they

187

now work different hours and 13 (44) said they battle to feed their families and themselves In the

marketing department 25 (85) said their earnings have always been fixed 11 (38) claimed that

earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different hours and 9 (31) said they battle to

feed their families and themselves In the finance department 8 (27) said their earnings have

always been fixed 2 (07) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because they now work

different hours and 6 (2) complained that they are battling to feed their families and themselves In

the HRM department 27 (92) said their earnings have always been fixed 15 (51) claimed that

earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different hours and 11 (38) complained that

they are battling to feed their families and themselves In the accounts department 10 (34) said


they now work different hours and 6 (2) complained that they are battling to feed their families and

themselves

In the procurement department 3 (1) said their earnings have always been fixed 2 (07) claimed

that earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different hours and 3 (1) complained that

they are battling to feed their families and themselves In the legal department 2 (07) posited that

their earnings have always been fixed 3 (1) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because they

now work different hours and 2 (07) asserted that they battle to feed their families and themselves

In the engineering department 31 (106) said their earnings have always been fixed 27 (92)

claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different hours and 18 (61) said

they battle to feed their families and themselves In the logistics department 1 (03) cited that

hisher earnings have always been fixed and that hisher earnings are no longer fixed because they

now work different hours respectively and 2 (07) complained that they are now battling to feed

their families and themselves In the security department 2 (07) asserted that their earnings have

always been fixed 1 (03) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because heshe now works

different hours and heshe is battling to feed hisher family and himherself respectively

The educational cross-tabulation of respondents shows that 113 (387) of those with tertiary

education said their earnings have always been fixed since the implementation of the reform 14

(48) of the matriculation education respondents asserted that their income has been fixed since

implementation and 6 (21) of the secondary education respondents are of the opinion that the

188

implementation has made theirs fixed A total of 71 (243) of the respondents with tertiary

education cited that their earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different hours 10

(34) of the matriculation education respondents are of the impression that their earnings are no

longer fixed since they now work different hours and 8 (27) of the secondary education

respondents said their earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different hours Lastly a

total of 61 (209) respondents with tertiary education proclaimed that they now battle to feed their

household since the implementation of reforms 5 (17) of the secondary education respondents

said they battle to feed themselves and their families since the implementation and 4 (14) of the

respondents with matriculation education said that the reform makes feeding the family very

difficult

The cross-tabulation of skills reveals that most of the administrative skilled respondents 21 (82)

said their earnings have always been fixed 17 (66) claimed that earnings are no longer fixed

because they now work different hours and 8 (31) cited that they battle to feed their families and

themselves The income status cross-tabulation with marketing skilled respondents reveals that 20

(78) respondents cited that their earnings have always been fixed 9 (35) claimed that earnings

are no longer fixed because they now work different hours and 8 (31) complained that they are

battling to feed their families and themselves The skills cross-tabulation with electrically skilled

respondents reveals that 12 (47) of the respondents claimed that their earnings have always been

fixed 12 (47) said earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different hours and 4

(16) said they battle to feed their families and themselves

The cross-tabulation of respondents who are skilled with accounting skills reveals that 15 (59)

said their earnings have always been fixed 9 complained that they battle to feed their families and

themselves and (35) of the respondents claimed that earnings are no longer fixed because they

now work different hours For technical skills 8 (31) said their earnings have always been fixed 7

(27) said they battle to feed their families and themselves and 4 (16) said their earnings are no

longer fixed because they now work different hours For respondents who have analytic and design

skills 11 (43) cited that their earnings have always been fixed 11 (43) said earnings are no

longer fixed because they now work different hours and 9 (35) said they battle to feed their

families and themselves

189

From the conceptual and interpersonal skilled respondents 9 (35) said their earnings have always


hours and 4 (16) said they are battling to feed their families and themselves Most of the

respondents who have industrial relation skills 9 (35) of the respondents claimed that earnings

are no longer fixed because they now work different hours 5 (2) said their earnings have always

been fixed and 3 (12) said they battle to feed their families and themselves The skills cross-

tabulation with human resource skilled respondents reveals that 3 (12) claimed that their earnings

have always been fixed 2 (08) said earnings are no longer fixed because they now work different

hours and none said that they are battling to feed their families and themselves

The cross-tabulation of respondents who are skilled with mechanical skills reveals that 5 (2) said


they now work different hours and 1 (04) said that they are battling to feed their families and

themselves For those with budgeting skills 2 (08) said their earnings have always been fixed and

said they are battling to feed their families and themselves respectively Lastly 1 (04) said hisher

earnings are no longer fixed because heshe now works different hours For respondents who have

security skills 2 (08) said their earnings have always been fixed and that their earnings are no

longer fixed because they now work different hours respectively Lastly 1 (04) the respondents

complained that heshe is battling to feed hisher family and himherself

Are You Able to Sustain Yourself Post-Reform Era

442

271 286

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

It is difficult surviving with my income I can still sustain my livelihoods Before reforms were implemented but notafter its implementation

Figure 17 Are you Able to sustain yourself Post-Reform Era

190

The majority of the respondents 119 (442) felt that it is difficult surviving with the income they

are earning A significant proportion 77 (253) are no longer able to sustain their livelihoods as

compared to the period before reforms were implemented Lastly 73 (24) of the workers can still

sustain their livelihoods Most of these workers are clustered amongst those who are single

The age cross-tabulation reveals that of respondents between 18 and 27 years 37 (138) find it

difficult surviving with their income during the post-reform era 30 (112) can still sustain their

livelihood in the post-reform era and 24 (89) asserted that when they started they were able to

sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult in the post-reform era Among the respondents aged

28 to 37 years 21 (78) asserted that it was difficult surviving with their income in the post-reform

era A total of 17 (63) asserted that when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood

but lately it has become difficult in the post-reform era and 13 (48) said they can still sustain

their livelihood in the post-reform era From those between the age of 38 and 47 years 37 (138) of

the respondents said it was difficult surviving with their income in the post-reform era A total of 27

(10) respondents asserted that when they started they were able sustain their livelihood but

lately it is difficult in the post-reform era and 17 (63) said that they can still sustain their

livelihood in the post-reform era

Among the ages 48 to 57 years 22 (82) respondents said it is difficult surviving with their income

12 (45) agreed that they can still sustain their livelihood in the post-reform era and 7 (26) stated

that when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it was difficult in the

post-reform era From the ages 58 years and above 2 (07) of the respondents said it is difficult

surviving with their income and when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but

lately it is difficult in the post-reform era respectively Lastly 1 (04) of the respondents said

heshe can still sustain hisher livelihood in the post-reform era

The gender cross-tabulated reveals that of the male respondents 53 (197) said it is difficult

surviving with their income 38 (141) maintained that they can still sustain their livelihood and 28

(104) asserted that they were able to sustain their livelihood when they started but find it difficult

lately Of the female respondents 66 (245) found it difficult surviving with their income 49

191

(182) were able to sustain their livelihood when they started but find it difficult lately and 35

(13) can still sustain their livelihood in the post-reform era

The marital status cross-tabulation reveals that most of the respondents 39 (141) claimed that

they find it difficult to survive with the income 31 (115) are of the opinion that they can still

sustain their livelihoods and 25 (93) said when they started they were able to sustain their

livelihood but lately it is difficult From the respondents who are married 71 (264) claimed that

they find it difficult to survive with the income 43 (16) said when they started they were able to

sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult and 38 (141) are of the opinion that they can still

sustain their livelihoods The next category of respondents is those who are divorced 3 (11) of the

respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 1 (04) said when heshe

started heshe was able to sustain hisher livelihood but lately it is difficult and none are of the

opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods In the category of widowed respondents 2 (07)

of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income and 1 (04) is of the

opinion that heshe can still sustain hisher livelihood and the same number also said when heshe

started heshe was able to sustain hisher livelihood but lately it is difficult Among the respondents

who are separated 7 (26) said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but

lately it is difficult 5 (19) claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income and 3

(11) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods

The income cross-tabulation reveals that of those who earn N18 000 to N50 000 11 (41) of the

respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income About 8 (3) said when

they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult and 6 (22) are of

the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods Among the respondents who earn N51 000 to

N100 000 29 (108) claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 20 (74) said

when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult and 20 (74)

are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods

The next category of respondents is those who earn N101 000 to N150 000 Of these 19 (71)

claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 15 (56) said when they started they

were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult and 14 (52) are of the opinion that

192

they can still sustain their livelihoods In the category of earners of N151 000 to N200 000 36

(134) of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 24 (89)

said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult and 22

(82) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods Among the respondents who are

earners of N201 000 to N300 000 16 (59) claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the

income 8 (3) said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is

difficult and 6 (22) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods Among the

respondents who are earners of N300 000+ 8 (3) claimed that they find it difficult to survive with

the income 5 (19) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods and 2 (07) said

when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult

The departmental cross-tabulation reveals that in the admin department 22 (82) of the

respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 16 (59) are of the

opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods and 18 (67) said when they started they were

able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult In the marketing department 21 (78) of

the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 5 (19) are of the


able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult From the finance department 6 (22) of

the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 2 (7) said when they

started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult and 4 (15) are of the

opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods

In the HRM department 24 (89) of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive

with the income 13 (48) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods and 13

(48) said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult In

the accounts department 10 (37) the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with


when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult In the

procurement department 3 (11) of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive

with the income 1 (04) is of the opinion that heshe can still sustain hisher livelihood and 3

(11) said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult

193

From the legal department 2 (07) claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income the

same number are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods and 3 (11) said when

they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult

In the engineering department 27 (10) of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to

survive with the income 28 (104) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods and

13 (48) said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult

In the logistics department 2 (07) of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive

with the income 1 (04) is of the opinion that heshe can still sustain hisher livelihood and none

said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult In the

security department 2 (07) of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the

income 1 (04) is of the opinion that heshe can still sustain hisher livelihood and the same

number said when heshe started with Shell heshe was able to sustain hisher livelihood but lately

it is difficult

The educational cross-tabulation denotes that 96 (358) of the respondents with tertiary education

asserted that it is difficult surviving with their income 15 (56) of those with matriculation

education said it not easy surviving with their income and 7 (26) of the matriculation secondary

education respondents are of the opinion that it is difficult for them to survive with their income A

significant proportion of respondents 63 (235) with tertiary education said they can still sustain

their livelihood 6 (22) of the matriculation respondents agreed that they can still sustain their

livelihood and 4 (15) of the secondary education respondents can sustain their livelihoods A

further 63 (235) with tertiary education said initially they were able to sustain their livelihoods

but lately it has become hard 8 (3) with secondary education said it was easy when they started

but became difficult at the end and 6 (22) with matriculation education said it was easy at the

beginning but became difficult lately

The education cross-tabulation of respondents who possess administrative skills reveals that 16

(69) claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 14 (6) said when they started

they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult and 13 (56) are of the opinion

that they can still sustain their livelihoods Among the respondents who have marketing skills 18

194



that they can still sustain their livelihoods From the category of respondents who have electrical

skills 12 (52) of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 8

(34) said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but lately it is difficult and

2 (09) of them are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods In the category of

accounting skills 12 (52) of the respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the


difficult and 4 (17) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods

Among the respondents who have technical skills 10 (43) claimed that they find it difficult to

survive with the income 7 (3) said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood but

lately it is difficult and 1 (04) is of the opinion that heshe can still sustain hisher livelihood

Among the respondents who possess analytic skills 11 (47) claimed that they find it difficult to



From the respondents who possess conceptual skills 7 (3) claimed that they find it difficult to

survive with the income 6 (26) said when they started they were able to sustain their livelihood

but lately it is difficult and 5 (21) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods

Among the respondents who have industrial relations skills 8 (14) claimed that they find it

difficult to survive with the income 4 (17) said when they started they were able to sustain their

livelihood but lately it is difficult and 3 (13) are of the opinion that they can still sustain their

livelihoods The next category of respondents is those who have human resource skills 3 (13)

claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 1 (04) said when heshe started

heshe was able to sustain hisher livelihood but lately it is difficult None of them were of the

opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods In the category of legal skills 3 (13) of the

respondents claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 2 (09) said when they



195

From the respondents who have managerial skills 1 (04) of the respondents claimed that heshe

finds it difficult to survive with the income and the same number said that when heshe started

heshe was able to sustain hisher livelihood but lately it is difficult None of the respondents are of

the opinion that they can still sustain their livelihoods Among the respondents who possess

budgeting skills 2 (09) claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income and that they

can still sustain their livelihoods respectively None said when they started they were able to sustain

their livelihood but lately it is difficult From the respondents who possess security skills 2 (09)

claimed that they find it difficult to survive with the income 1 (04) is of the opinion that heshe

can still sustain hisher livelihood and the same number said when heshe started heshe was able to

sustain hisher livelihood but lately it is difficult

Role that Needs to be Played by Government in Reforming the Sector

Figure 18 Role that Needs to be Played by Government in Reforming the Sector

The frequency distribution of respondents shows that the majority of respondents 96 (332) are of

the opinion that the government ought to intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment in

Shell A significant proportion of respondents 75 (26) are of the view that laws should be passed

banning the use of contract workers Furthermore 65 (225) respondents cited that the government

needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace Lastly

196

53 (183) respondents stressed that the government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor

working conditions

The age cross-tabulation of respondent shows that 32 (111) of the respondents between the age of

18 and 27 years are of the view that the government ought to intervene in regulating the use of

atypical employment in reforming the petroleum sector followed by 26 (9) who asserted that the

government needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the

workplace 25 (87) who suggested that laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers

in the petroleum industry and 12 (42) who said the government ought to appoint labour inspectors

to monitor working conditions in the reforming of the petroleum sector

Among the ages 28 to 37 years 23 (8) of the respondents said that the government ought to

intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment in reforming the petroleum sector 13 (45)

asserted that the government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions in the

reforming of the petroleum sector 12 (42) suggested that laws should be passed banning the use

of contract workers in the petroleum sector and 11 (38) asserted that the government needs to

work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace

From the ages 38 to 47 years 32 (111) of the respondents said that the government ought to


are of the opinion that laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers in the petroleum

sector 18 (62) advised that the government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working

conditions in the reforming of the petroleum sector and 15 (52) asserted that the government needs

to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace From those

aged 48 to 57 years 17 (59) respondents said laws should be passed banning the use of contract

workers 11 (38) advised that the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace 9 (31) are of the opinion that the government

ought to intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment and 8 (28) said that the

government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions

197

Lastly among the ages 58 years and above 2 (07) respondents said that the government needs to

work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies at the workplace the same number

said laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers again the same number said the

government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions in the reforming of the

petroleum sector and none of the respondents agreed that the government should play any role in

regulating the use of atypical employment

The gender cross-tabulation reveals that 38 (131) respondents said laws should be passed banning

the use of contract workers 37 (128) think that the government needs to work with the unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace 31 (107) feel that government intervention is

required in regulating the use of atypical employment and 25 (87) posited that the government

should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions Of the female respondents 65

(225) said the government should regulate the use of atypical employment 37 (128) said laws

should be passed banning the use of contract workers in the petroleumoil and gas sector 28 (97)

suggested that the government needs to work in conjunction with unions in eradicating abusive

tendencies in the workplace and 28 (97) suggested that the government ought to appoint labour

inspectors to monitor working conditions

The marital cross-tabulation reveals that the majority of the single respondents 35 (121) said the

government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 27 (93) said the


workplace 26 (9) said laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers and 13 (45)

said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions From the

analysis it could be observed that the modal class as represented in the distribution is those who

think the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment

The marital status cross-tabulation of married respondents reveals that the majority 52 (18) said

the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment followed by the 42

(145) who suggested that laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers 36 (125)

who said the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions and 34

(118) who said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive

198

tendencies in the workplace The marital status cross-tabulation with divorced respondents reveals

that 1 (07) said the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 1

(07) said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive

tendencies in the workplace 1 (07) said laws should be passed banning the use of contract

workers and 1 (07) said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working

conditions

The cross-tabulation of widowed respondents reveals that 2 (07) said the government should

intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 1 (03) said the government needs to work

hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace and that laws should be

passed banning use of contract workers respectively None of them said that the government should

appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions Lastly of the separated respondents 6

(21) said the government ought to intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 5

(17) opined that laws should be made banning the use of contract workers 3 (1) suggested that

the government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions and 2 (07) said

that the government needs to work hand in hand with labour unions in eradicating abusive tendencies

in the workplace

The income cross-tabulation reveals that the majority of the N18 000 to N50 000 earning

respondents 10 (35) said the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical

employment 7 (24) said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating

abusive tendencies in the workplace 5 (17) said laws should be passed banning the use of contract


conditions The income cross-tabulation of respondents who earn N51 000 to N100 000 reveals that

the majority 29 (10) said the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical

employment 18 (62) suggested that laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers 18


tendencies in the workplace and 7 (24) said the government should appoint labour inspectors to

monitor working conditions The cross-tabulation of those who earn N101 000 to N150 000 reveals

that 21 (73) said the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment

13 (45) said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions

199

of the respondents said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating

abusive tendencies in the workplace 10 (35) said laws should be passed banning the use of

contract workers and 10 (33) said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace

The cross-tabulation of N151 000 to N200 000 earning respondents reveals that 27 (93) said laws

should be passed banning the use of contract workers 25 (87) said the government should

intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 18 (62) said that the government should

appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions and 17 (59) said the government needs to

work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace The cross-

tabulation of N201 000 to N300 000 earning respondents reveals that 9 (31) of them said that the

government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions 9 (31) said the

government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 8 (28) said laws

should be passed banning the use of contract workers and 6 (21) said the government needs to

work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace Lastly

respondents who earn N300 000+ share the following views 7 (24) said that the government

needs to work hand in hand with labour unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace

and 7 (24) said that laws should be made banning the use of contract workers However 3 (1)

persons opined that the government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working

conditions and then lastly 2 (07) said the government ought to intervene in regulating the use of

atypical employment

The departmental cross-tabulation reveals that in the admin department 22 (76) are of the opinion

that the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 13 (45) said

the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the


said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions In the

marketing department 22 (76) said the government should intervene in regulating the use of

atypical employment 4 (14) said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace 3 (38) said laws should be passed banning the

200

use of contract workers and 10 (35) said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to

monitor working conditions

From the finance department 6 (21) said the government should intervene in regulating the use of




monitor working conditions In the HRM department 13 (45) said the government should


hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace 15 (52) said laws

should be passed banning the use of contract workers and 7 (24) said that the government should

appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions

In the accounts department 6 (21) said the government should intervene in regulating the use of

atypical employment 4 (14) said the government ought to work hand in hand with unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace 7 (24) claim that laws should be passed banning

the use of contract workers and 5 (17) said the government should appoint labour inspectors to

monitor working conditions In the procurement department 2 (07) are of the opinion that the




said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions In the legal

department 4 (14) are of the opinion that the government should intervene in regulating the use of

atypical employment none said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace none said laws should be passed banning the use of

contract workers and 3 (1) said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor

working conditions In the engineering department 19 (66) said the government should intervene

in regulating the use of atypical employment 22 (76) said the government needs to work hand in

hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace 19 (66) said laws should be

passed banning the use of contract workers and 14 (48) said that the government should appoint

labour inspectors to monitor working conditions In the logistics department none said the

201



workplace the same number said laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers and

none said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions From

the security department 2 (07) said the government should intervene in regulating the use of


eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace and that laws should be passed banning the use of

contract workers respectively None said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to


The educational cross-tabulation reveals that 72 (25) respondents with tertiary education said the

government ought to intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 16 (56) of the

matriculation respondents asserted that the government ought to intervene in regulating the use of

atypical employment and 8 (28) of the secondary education respondents suggested that the

government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment A significant 55 (191)

of the respondents with tertiary education are of the impression that the government needs to work

hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace 6 (21) of the

respondents with matriculation education said that the government needs to work with unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace and 4 (14) with secondary education suggested

that the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the

workplace Of the tertiary education respondents 66 (229) posited that laws should be passed

banning the use of contract workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company 5 (17) of the

secondary education respondents said that laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers

in Shell Petroleum Development Company and 3 (1) of the matriculation education respondents

suggested that laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers in Shell Petroleum

Development Company Of the respondents with tertiary education 49 (17) suggested that the

government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions in Shell Petroleum

Development Company and 2 (07) of both the matriculation and secondary education respondents

suggested that the government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions

202

The skills cross-tabulation reveals that amongst administrative skilled respondents 15 (59) said

the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 12 (47) said the



said that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions The cross-

tabulation of respondents who have marketing skills reveals that the majority of them 18 (71)

said that the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 10 (4)

suggested that laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers 6 (24) said the


workplace and 3 (12) said the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working

conditions

The cross-tabulation of respondents with electrical skills reveals that 8 (32) said the government

should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 6 (24) said that the government

should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions 5 (2) said laws should be passed

banning the use of contract workers and that the government needs to work hand in hand with unions

in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace respectively The cross-tabulation of respondents

with accounting skills reveals that 10 (4) said laws should be passed banning the use of contract

workers 7 (28) pointed out that the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical

employment 5 (2) suggested that the government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor

working conditions and 4 (16) said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in


The cross-tabulation of technical skilled respondents reveals that 6 (24) of them said that the

government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions 6 (24) suggested that

the government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 4 (16) said laws

should be passed banning the use of contract workers and 4 (16) suggested that the government

needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace From the

respondents who possess analytic and design skills 12 (47) said that the government needs to

work hand in hand with labour unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace 9 (36)

opined that laws should be made banning the use of contract workers 8 (32) suggested that the

203

government ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions and lastly 3 (12)

said the government ought to intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment

From the conceptual skilled respondents 7 (28) said the government should intervene in

regulating the use of atypical employment 7 (28) suggested that the government needs to work


should be passed banning the use of contract workers and 2 (08) felt that the government should

appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions The cross-tabulation of respondents who

have industrial relations skills reveals that the majority 7 (28) said the government should

intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 4 (16) claimed that laws should be passed

banning the use of contract workers 3 (12) said the government needs to work hand in hand with

unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace and 2 (08) suggested that the

government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions

The cross-tabulation of respondents with human resources skills reveals that 2 (08) said the

government should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment and 1 (04) said that the

government should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions and laws should be

passed banning the use of contract workers respectively None of the respondents said the


workplace The cross-tabulation of respondents with mechanical skills reveals that 3 (12) said

laws should be passed banning the use of contract workers 2 (08) said the government should

intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 2 (08) suggested that the government

should appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions and 1 (04) said the government

needs to work hand in hand with unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace

The cross-tabulation of legal skilled respondents reveals that 4 (16) said the government should


appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions none said laws should be passed banning

the use of contract workers and none said the government needs to work hand in hand with unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace From the respondents who possess managerial

skills 1 (04) said that the government needs to work hand in hand with labour unions in

eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace and 1 (04) opined that laws should be made

204

banning the use of contract workers However none opined that the government ought to appoint

labour inspectors to monitor working conditions and then lastly none said the government ought to

intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment

The cross-tabulation of respondents with budgeting skills reveals that 4 (16) said the government

should intervene in regulating the use of atypical employment 2 (08) said laws should be passed

banning the use of contract workers 1 (04) said that the government should appoint labour

inspectors to monitor working conditions and that the government needs to work hand in hand with

unions in eradicating abusive tendencies in the workplace respectively Of the respondents who

possess security skills 2 (08) said the government ought to intervene in regulating the use of

atypical employment 1 (04) opined that laws should be made banning the use of contract workers

and that government needs to work hand in hand with labour unions in eradicating abusive

tendencies in the workplace respectively Lastly none of the workers opined that the government

ought to appoint labour inspectors to monitor working conditions

54 Perceptions of Employers in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria

In trying to corroborate the responses generated from questionnaires with employees further

interviews were conducted with management staff Out of the ten questionnaires distributed among

the management staff of Shell Petroleum Development Company seven respondents returned the

questionnaires

The first question posed to employers relates to types of labour market flexibility trends implemented

in Shell Petroleum Development Company In response to the types of labour market reforms that

were implemented in the oil-producing sector in Nigeria the employers identified lsquocasualisationrsquo

fixed-term contract and outsourcing From the employers interviewed a total of 3 (429) said

lsquocasualisationrsquo another 3 (429) are of the opinion that outsourcing is the type of labour market

reforms implemented in the oil-producing sector of Nigeria and 1 (14) of the respondents said

fixed-term contract The employersrsquo views corroborate the employeesrsquo views in the earlier analysis

who also cited lsquocasualisationrsquo outsourcing and contract work The only type of labour reform that

was not mentioned by the employees but was mentioned by the employers is part-time work

205

Secondly the researcher went on to understand what the rational was behind the implementation of

the labour market reforms at Shell Petroleum Development Company The management responses as

presented in order shows that priority one was to minimise cost priority 2 was to maximise profit

and priority 3 was for reasons related to global competitiveness The employersrsquo perception on the

rationale for implementing reforms was cost and productivity related and this view concurs with the

employeesrsquo perceptions Furthermore employers were asked which reforms have mostly benefited

Shell Petroleum Development Company in terms of cost cutting The employers mentioned that they

have benefited from lsquocasualisationrsquo fixed-term contracts and outsourcing Employers also cited that

since they adopted these labour market flexibility trends the annual turnover of the company has

improved significantly

When employers were asked whether or not the reforms were consultednegotiated with labour

formations in the company all employers interviewed affirmed that these reforms were

consultednegotiated with labour formations This is corroborated by 552 of employees who

earlier highlighted that reforms were negotiatedconsulted with labour formations The challenges

identified by employers after the implementation of reforms relate to pockets of demonstrations by

labour formations in trying to force employers to stop using casual labour and fixed-term contracts at

Shell The employers at Shell asserted that they see no reason for labour formation to be disgruntled

because all the agreements reached with the labour unions were implemented to the satisfaction of

the labour formations with all of them giving what turns out to be a positive response to support the

notion It is in this context that employers felt that labour formations need to start working together

with the employers towards achieving a common goal and ensuring effective labourmanagement

relations

In conclusion employers suggested that the labour formations ought to utilise the collective

bargaining platforms available in ensuring that workersrsquo grievances are heard Employers also felt

that most often the labour formations in Shell Petroleum Development Company are not

progressive In light of that the employers suggested that trade union formations need to start

adopting a pluralistic approach to labour relations

206

Interview with Government Officials

The intention of this researcher was to interview ten government officials However I succeeded in

interviewing eight four from the Ministry of Labour two from the Department of Petroleum

Resources (DPR) and the remaining two from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources In line with our

research ethics pseudonyms are used to protect the identities of the respondents

Respondent (A) is a senior official in the Ministry of Labour

Question What was the role played by the government and its agencies in the introduction and

implementation of labour market reforms in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria

Response The role played by the government in the introduction of labour market reforms is

through implementation of legislation This legislation only provided an enabling environment for

the implementation of the reforms in order to encourage re-investment

Question Were these reforms conceived by the government or the organised private sectors

Response It was the idea of the organised private sector it was brought to the government for the

government to play its regulatory role

Question What forms of intervention did the government initiate to regulate the various types of

labour market reforms implemented by the organised private sector

Response In some cases the government through its agencies such as the Ministry of Labour

monitors the implementation of the reforms to ensure that work standards are not compromised and

that workersrsquo rights are not violated

Question What has the government done to ensure a labour-friendly environment in the petroleum

sector

Answer One of the things that has been done by the government to ensure a friendly environment in

the petroleum sector includes the provision of a conducive negotiating environment for the parties

involved

Question How is Shell Petroleum Development Company in compliance with legislations pertaining

to labour flexibility implementation

Response Shell has been very compliant with labour flexibility regulations

207

Question What are the dispute resolution mechanisms enacted by the government to effectively

regulatedeal with disputes emanating from non-compliance with regulations

Response The government has establishment the Industrial Arbitration Panel and the National

Industrial Court to deal with labour disputes

Respondent (B) is another senior official in the monitoring department of the Ministry of

Labour he has this to say to the questions posed to him



Response The government has been advisory and supervisory in the introduction of labour market

reforms the roles are not limited to the petroleum sector alone but to all employers with over 50

employees


Response The reforms were private initiatives of the employers in most cases with consultation

with the workersrsquo union



Response The government only made laws regulations and enactment to safeguard the interest of

the parties particularly the workers


sector

Response The government has provided a conducive negotiating environment for the parties

involved an example is the guidelines put up by the government on labour administration issues on

contract staffingoutsourcing in the oil and gas sector



Response When compared with other employers particularly the IndianLebanese companies I will

say Shell has been compliant


regulate and deal with disputes emanating from non-compliance with regulations

208

Response The establishment of the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian Employersrsquo Consultative

Association (NECA) has made conflict resolution easier between labourers and employers in the

petroleum sector

Respondent (C) is a factory inspector in the inspectorate division of the Ministry of Labour



Response The government only sees to it that the implementation of such reforms is not detrimental

to the quality of working life of the workers this is done through the various regulatory bodies and

agencies


Response Both the government and the organised private sector conceive reforms and implement

them however most of the labour reforms in Shell were conceived solely by the company



Response The government only made laws to ensure peaceful implementation of the reforms


sector

Response The government has ensured a peaceful and labour friendly environment by providing

mechanisms for negotiation and collective bargaining for the parties involved



Response Shell Petroleum Development Company has been compliant


regulate dealwith disputes emanating from non-compliance with regulations

Response The promulgation of laws and the establishment of various conflict resolution institutions

have made effective dispute resolution possible

209

Respondent (D) is one of the managers in the monitoring department of the Ministry of

Labour



Response The government plays advisory and regulatory roles during the introduction of labour

market reforms


Response Reforms globally are conceived by both the government and the organised private sector

Question What forms of intervention did the government take to regulate the various types of labour

market reforms implemented by the organised private sector

Response Laws were promulgated to ensure peaceful implementation of the reforms and as I

mentioned earlier the roles of the government are monitoring evaluation and regulatory


sector

Response The government has provided a platform for a labour friendly environment through the

introduction and implementation of the guidelines put up by the government on labour

administration issues on contract staffingoutsourcing in the oil and gas sector



Response Shell has adhered strictly to the legislations pertaining to labour flexibility

implementation



Response The labour laws in Nigeria have been very effective in this area laws have been made to

make effective dispute resolution possible through the establishment of the Industrial Arbitration

Panel and the National Industrial Court

Respondent (E) is a staff member of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources



210

Response The government and its agencies played the role of umpire in the introduction and

implementation of labour market reforms in Shell the idea is to make sure neither of the parties is

unfairly treated particularly the employees who are considered the weaker party in an employment

relationship


Response Both the government and the organised private sector are involved in the labour reforms

in Nigeria



Response The major role of the government is in the areas of legislations and guidelines for

effective implementation of the reforms Laws were introduced to ensure implementation of the

reforms


sector

Response The establishment of reliable collective bargaining levels and conflict management

mechanisms and institutions has ensured a labour-friendly environment in the petroleum sector



Response Shell Petroleum Development Company has strictly complied with legislations pertaining

to labour flexibility implementation agreements reached by the parties before the implementation of

the various reforms were fulfilled and various improvements after the implementation were also

carried out



Response In most instances when it is observed by the workers that government regulations on the

implementation of labour reforms are not observed by the employer the workers are likely to embark

on strike actions to bring such non-compliance to the notice and attention of the government The

government on its part can as a form of sanction seal up the premises of the defaulting employer

however the regular visits and monitoring by the factoriesrsquo inspectors from the Ministry of Labour

has drastically reduced non-compliance

211

Respondent (F) is also a staff member of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources



Response The government and its agencies supervised and monitored the implementation of labour

market reforms


Response It is conceived mainly by the private sector but the government also makes reforms in the

labour sector as it does in all other sector of the economy



Response The government has implemented certain labour-related laws to ensure fair

implementation of the reforms


sector

Response In order to ensure a labour-friendly atmosphere in the petroleum sector the government

has established a mediation and conciliation forum and also the National Industrial Court where

conciliation and mediation fails



Response Shell Petroleum Development Company has done fairly well in the area of compliance

with the various legislations on labour reform implementation lately and this has reduced the level

of grievances in the company

Question What dispute resolution mechanisms are enacted by the government to effectively


Response The government through its agencies such as the Industrial Arbitration Panel and the

National Industrial Court provided platforms that deal with disputes emanating from non-

compliance with regulations and collective agreement

Respondent (G) is from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources



212

Responses The government played the role of an umpire and watchdog to see to the effective

implementation of the labour market reforms so that labour standards can be maintained


Response The labour market reforms in the petroleum sector are the brainchild of the organised

private sector through their various sectoral employer organisations



Response The intervention of government is mainly in the area of legislation related laws and

guidelines were introduced to ensure implementation of the reforms


sector

Response The introduction of policy guidelines and regulation and monitoring of the

implementation of such guidelines has ensured a labour-friendly environment in the petroleum

sector



Response Shell Petroleum Development Company is complying with the guidelines on casual and

outsourcing staffing policies as laid down by the minister of labour



Response The government has established institutions that deal with disputes emanating from non-

compliance with regulations such institutions and establishments are the conciliation Industrial

Arbitration and the National Industrial Court where conflicts emanating from labour disputes are

resolved

Respondent (H) is a geologist and a senior official in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources



Response The government through the Ministry of Labour and other of its agencies monitors the

implementation of the labour market reforms to protect the interest of the workers


213

Response The labour market reforms implemented in Shell were conceived by the employer and

their association the government only developed a guideline for its implementation



Response The government of Nigeria adopted the legislative intervention in regulating the labour

market reforms laws were made for effective implementation


sector

Response The government has the responsibility of ensuring a conducive working environment and

this has been done in the petroleum sector through the introduction of the guidelines on labour

reform implementation policies on casual and outsourced staffing and enabling a collective

bargaining environment for labourmanagement relations in the petroleum sector



Response Shell has complied and is still complying where it defaults the agencies of government

are quick to call their attention to such non-compliance



Response Institutions which deal with disputes emanating from non-compliance with regulations

have been established and put in place by the government these are the Industrial Arbitration Panel

and the National Industrial Court

Pearsonrsquos Correlation Coefficient

Furthermore a correlation of independent variables (age marital status income department

educational level and type of skills possessed) was undertaken to measure how they are related The

Pearson Product Moment Correlation results which show the linear relationship between variables

are outline below

214

Age Gender Marital

status

Income Department Education Types

of

skills

Age

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

1

304

-096

093

304

452

000

304

653

000

304

203

000

304

416

000

303

029

642

267

Marital Status

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

452

000

304

269

000

304

1

304

134

020

304

296

000

304

178

002

303

179

003

267

Income

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

653

000

304

-262

000

304

134

020

304

1

304

245

000

304

524

000

303

069

259

267

Department

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

203

000

304

-086

136

304

296

000

304

245

000

304

1

304

126

028

303

533

000

267

215

N

Education

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

416

000

303

-135

019

303

178

002

303

524

000

303

126

028

303

1

303

-

250

000

267

Types of Skill

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

029

642

267

144

018

267

179

003

267

069

259

267

533

000

267

-250

000

267

1

267

Table 8 Correlation

Correlation is significant at the 001 level (2-tailed)


There is significant positive correlation (r= -096 lt 005) between age and gender Such statistics

indicate that age and gender dynamics have a significant bearing on the impact of reforms on

employment security at Shell Petroleum Development Company There is no significant positive

correlation (r=452 gt 005) between age and marital status These statistics indicate age and marital

status have no significant bearing on flexibility trends and employment insecurity There is also no

significant positive correlation (r=653 gt 005) between age and income which in essence means

that age and income do not influence the labour market reforms and employment insecurity There is

also no significant positive correlation (r=203 gt 005) between age and department which in

essence means that age and department do not have a significant bearing on labour market reforms

216

and employment insecurity There is also no significant positive correlation (r=416 gt 005) between

age and education which in essence means that age and education at Shell do not have a significant

bearing on labour market reforms and employment insecurity Lastly there is no significant positive

correlation (r=029 gt 005) between age and type of skills which in essence means that age and

skills that workers have do not have a significant bearing on labour market reforms and employment

insecurity

There is no significant positive correlation (r=269 gt 005) between gender and marital status These

statistics indicate that labour market reforms and employment insecurity are not influenced by

gender and marital status There is a significant positive correlation (r=-262 lt 005) between gender

and income This means that the workers because of their gender and income are affected by

reforms and employment insecurity in a different way There is also a significant positive correlation

(r=-086 lt 005) between gender and department This means that gender and department have a

significant bearing on reforms and employment insecurity There is also a significant positive

correlation (r=-135 lt 005) between gender and education which informs us that gender and

educational level have a significant impact on reforms and employment insecurity Lastly there is no

significant positive correlation (r=144 gt 005) between gender and type skills possessed This means

that gender and skills do not in any way influence reforms and the insecurities in employment that

are linked to reforms

There is no significant positive correlation (r=296 gt 005) between marital status and department

There is also no significant positive correlation (r=178 gt 005) between marital status and

educational levels of workers Lastly there is also no significant positive correlation (r=179 gt 005)

between marital status and type of skills that workers have Overall the above variables do not have

a significant bearing on how labour market reforms impact on employment insecurity

There is no significant positive correlation (r=245 gt 005) between income and department Income

and department do not play a significant role when reforms are implemented and the insecurities in

job cuts across all income and departments There is also no significant positive correlation (r=524 gt

005) between income and educational levels of workers Lastly there is also no significant positive

correlation (r=069 gt 005) between income and type of skills that workers have

217

There is also no significant positive correlation (r=126 gt 005) between department and educational

levels of workers and there is no positive correlation (r=533 gt 005) between department and type

of skills possessed This in essence means that the department type of skills and educational level

do not have a bearing on the reforms and insecurities in employment Lastly there is a significant

positive correlation (r=-250 lt 005) between educational information and type of skills possessed

55 Conclusion

From the responses generated through interviews with employees employers and government

officials it is evident that the reforms have been detrimental to employees but beneficial to

employers The role of the government has only been limited to regulating industrial relations and

through various statutory bodies such as the Industrial Arbitration Panel and the National Industrial

Court However unlike in South Africa where the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of

Employment Act make prescriptions about workersrsquo rights in Nigeria the Ministry of Labour is

lagging behind in terms of protecting workersrsquo rights

218

Chapter Six


hellipRemember your seventy-year-old grandmother who still farms before she eats remember also

your poverty stricken people remember too your petroleum which is being pumped out daily from

your veins and then fight for your freedom

Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro5

61 Introduction

This chapter is based on my findings and descriptive phenomenon generated from my fieldwork

interactions with the employees of Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria and

government officials The researcher set to understand what labour reforms really entail and the

meaning of labour flexibility secondly the study intended to find out from employees the types of

labour market reforms implemented by the management of Shell Petroleum Development Company

in Nigeria and how working as an employee of Shell in Nigeria has affected individual worker

income their livelihood and standard of living Thirdly through the enquiry the researcher wanted

to ascertain the impact of such reforms on the employment security and benefits of the workers and

finally how these labour market reforms ignited worker-organised union and community resistance

in Nigeria

62 Discussion and Interpretation of Results

The discussion and interpretation of results is in line with the studies conducted by other researchers

on labour market reforms trend in both Nigeria and other jurisdictions The discussion and

interpretation exercise took into consideration the initial hypothesis which stated that ldquoThere is a

negative relationship between labour market reforms and employment security in Shell oil

companies in Nigeria and secondly the growing insecurities in employment and wages in

Nigerian Shell-dominated communities in the Niger Delta are linked to the ongoing

restructuring in the sectorrdquo

5 Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro addressing his 59-man ragtag army before the first revolts against the oil multinationals and the Nigerian Government in 1966 See Courson (2009)

219

Despite the riches that oil brings to the country Nigerian oil workers particularly those in the

periphery segment have been subjected to poverty deprivation and labour abuse as decent job have

been abandoned and more jobs are created through outsourcing and employment agencies

A study by Boyer in 2006 pinpoints that the functioning of highly competitive labour markets does

not provide the job security that workers expect he gave reasons for these to be that modern labour

market theory considers full employment to be an exception and the equilibrium with unemployment

or scarcity of workers is the rule Secondly he opined that in the case of unemployment the access

to employment can be limited to the most skilled and productive workers leaving the less privileged

in long-term unemployment ndash a reason that active labour market policies have to be designed and

implemented

This study described and analysed the important characteristics and aspects of labour market

segmentation and numerical flexibility of workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company in

Nigeria The researcher aimed to uncover elements of this mechanism as used by Shell managers in

Nigeria The result of this empirical study suggests that under the labour market segmentation

model Shell managers have succeeded in dividing the employees in the internal labour market into

core and peripheral margins This division is reflected in enormous variations in the terms of the

contract conditions of service and the opportunities available to those working in the same work

environment and exposed to the same kinds of risks The situation in Shell as shown by the results

of this investigation can be related to Atkinsonrsquos flexible firm model that there are two categories of

workers namely core workers usually referred to as permanent staff and peripheral or contract

workers In each category there are expatriate workers and indigenous workers as well as peripheral

expatriates and peripheral indigenous workers Like the flexible firm model core workers in Shell

Petroleum Development Company are also workers whose skills are not necessarily core to the

operations of the company Similarly in the peripheral categories of Shell there are skills that are

both core and non-core to the operations of the company This model is interesting and different

from the flexible firm model and it should be noted that such a distinction is one of the discoveries in

this investigation

220

Tokman (2007) in his study offered an analysis of the social and economic changes taking place in

the countries of Latin America and their effects on social cohesion in recent times he opined that

changes of macroeconomic regime in this jurisdiction brought about by the liberalisation of trade

and globalisation created increased volatility of wages and a greater risk of unemployment made

more likely by the recently introduced labour reforms in these jurisdictions With the consequence of

employment instability and as labour turnover increased and given the lack of good jobs he posited

that the only alternative was to work in the informal sector with its low productivity and poor wages

He argued further that as employment opportunities grew in the informal economy workers are on

subcontracts precarious conditions and have no employment stability or social protection a job that

can in no way be deemed to offer decent work

lsquoCasualisationrsquo has been promoted by the widespread unemployment and poverty and what were

hitherto good jobs are falling prey to corporate cost-cutting strategies at the expense of the workers

as too many jobs are being outsourced contracted out or reclassified to keep pay down and benefits

and unions out (Solidarity Centre 2010)

63 Labour Flexibility A New Form of Employment Contract

Labour flexibility a concept that depicts the freedom employers enjoy to expand or contract their

workforce as they wish and to engage workers on a temporary or part-time basis came into the

limelight of labour relations literature in Europe around the mid-1970s as a result of the economic

crisis ignited by the massive oil price increases of 1973 (Treu 1992)

Oil companies in Nigeria including Shell appear to be taking advantage of the chronic level of

unemployment and economic underdevelopment prevalent in the country and have used casual

workers to replace full-time unionised workers with reduced remunerations and less legal protection

When the casual or temporary workers complain to the employment agency firms they are quickly

reminded of the large army of unemployed graduates in the delta region who are waiting and willing

to take the job according to their terms and conditions (Solidarity Centre 2010)

Atypical employment has taken a global dimension that is beyond the oil industry On 26 January

2000 Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta reduced its employees at the headquarters by 2500 along

221

with 800 employees at other US sites and 2700 employees in other countries in what became known

as the lsquoDay of the Long Knivesrsquo and many of the responsibilities performed by those laid-off were to

be assigned to labour brokers Only about 20 000 of the hundreds of thousands of employees around

the world who serviced the vast Coke Empire were to be directly employed by the company the

implication of this development is that labour standards of the other employees were no longer to be

the responsibility of Coca-Cola (Toslashrres and Gunnes 2003)

This manifestation was revealed by Clarke and Borisov (1999) in their assessment of the new forms

of labour contract and labour flexibility in Russia they evaluated the different types of labour

contracts under which people are employed in the different sectors of the Russian economy

First they identified the traditional form of permanent employment which can be associated with a

non-renewable probationary period This form of employment relation might be confirmed in the

traditional way and is mainly used to provide senior managers or scarce-skilled employees with more

favourable terms and conditions of employment

A second type of contract identified by them is the short-term contracts of up to five years in this

form of contract the character of work the duties and obligation of the employee as well as work

conditions are stipulated by law Such laws also make it impossible for the contract to be converted

into an indefinite agreement in conformity with ILO recommendation 166 of 1982 to prevent

employers from transferring their entire labour force to the five-year fixed-term contracts

The third categories are those whose contracts are to provide goods and services under contracts

governed by the Civil Code in this class employees are considered to be self-employed and their

employment relation goes beyond the application of the Labour Code They noted that lsquothis provides

a familiar loophole for those small employers wishing to flout the provisions of the Labour Code

with impunity by subcontracting but it is also used as a mechanism by which regular employees are

contracted to do additional jobs on the side since it makes it possible to pay them directly without

having to formulate a labour agreementrsquo (Clarke and Borisov 1999598)

222

The Russian situation is similar to what the researcher observed in his study the core workers in

Shell have a form of permanent employment with security of tenure while the periphery workers can

be likened to the second and third categories of workers in Russia However while regulations are

observed in the Russian situation management of Shell in Nigeria have the tendency to disregard

local and international labour laws and regulations particularly as it affects segmented workers

64 lsquoCasualisationrsquo and Employment Security

Standing (200817) defines job security to be the ability and opportunity to retain a niche an

occupation or lsquocareerrsquo plus barriers to skill dilution and opportunities for lsquoupwardrsquo mobility in terms

of status and income etc He argues that lsquocasualisationrsquo has both negative and positive sides for the

major parties in the industrial relations system (workers and employers) and looked at how the

positive sides could be developed while allowing flexible employment to continue to grow

His contextual argument is that the pressures of globalisation via the lsquoflexibilisationrsquo and

lsquoinformalisationrsquo of labour markets produce an agenda for lsquocasualisationrsquo In reviewing the

advantages and disadvantages of casual labour for employers he depicts lsquocasualisationrsquo and other

forms of flexible work processes as usually involving some forms of economic insecurity for the

worker According to him ldquoThe modern lsquocasualisationrsquo that is taking place as part of globalisation

involves a steady restructuring of social income and labour modification in which many workers are

finding that an increasing share of their remuneration is coming from money wages which are a

relatively insecure part of their social income As a result there is a need to find new ways of

providing income security that could allow workers to accept the more casual work arrangements

without excessive anxiety and alienationrdquo (p15) He further argued that where job security is

lacking employees will not only be vulnerable they will also not adopt socially responsible

behaviour as chronic insecurity induces adverse behavioural reactions

For companies non-standard employment reduces overall labour costs and is considered an easy way

to disengage short-term staff when their services are not required Casual workers in Shell are only

entitled to 15 to 50 of negotiated union wages and no wage benefits In the opinion of atypical

employment proponents workers are concerned with monetary rewards and have no interest in non-

wage benefits or positive employee-management relations (Solidarity Centre 2010)

223

The researcher made considerable efforts to interview the members of the senior management team

(SMT) of Shell This effort was however not successful as they were either in a management

meeting or their secretaries simply told me they were not available for interview However I

succeeded in interviewing some managers Gumede 2 a co-ordinator in the human resource

department while justifying the use of casual and temporary staff disclosed that the situation in the

company is the organisationrsquos human resource staffing policy emphasising that other companies in

the industry similarly engage the use of casuals and temporary workers Khuzwayo a deputy

manager in the industrial relations department when asked by the researcher why there is large

disparity in the earnings of core and peripheral employees of Shell disclosed that contract and

temporary workers are not employees of the company and that what they try to do as responsible

corporate citizens is to agree with the employment agencies to pay a reasonable minimum to their

employees seconded to Shell

65 Labour and Community Resistance The Fundamental Issues

Since the discovery of oil in commercial quantity and inception of oil production in the Niger Delta

in 1956 and 1958 respectively there seemed to be hope of the promise of rapid development for the

neglected minorities of the delta region but the presence of the transnational oil companies in

collaboration with the Nigerian state has subjected the people and oil-bearing communities of the

delta to experience increasing ecological degradation and poverty which has culminated in a

resurgence of violence in the region Due to pervasive underdevelopment occasioned by blatant

environmental pollution and despoliation political marginalisation and outright neglect by the

MNOCs oil-related agitations commenced in the region in an attempt to compel the state and the oil-

producing companiesrsquo MNOCs to remedy the injustices meted out to the people of the Niger Delta

Using the state security apparatus youth peaceful protests against Shell at Umuechem in Rivers state

was brutally quelled and the community was virtually destroyed on 31 October 1990 leaving over 80

people dead and about 500 houses reduced to the ground an incident that resulted in an

unprecedented number of internally displaced people (IDP) in the history of that community (Omeje

2006) (See also Watts 2004 Zalik 2004 Omeje 2005 Obi 2009 Courson 2009)

224

Community conflicts and agitations with multinational oil companies have been largely directed at

Shell Petroleum Development Company This is not unconnected with the fact that it has the longest

history in the country and has far broader social contact and interaction with the communities of the

Niger Delta than its counterparts whose installations are primarily offshore (Zalik 2004) He

reiterated further that the opinion of the in the Niger Delta is that lsquoin the Niger Delta Shell is the

statersquo This belief was to be confirmed by Shell Nigeria (SPDC Shell Petroleum Development

Company of Nigeria) in its 2001 annual report ndash that their community development work has left

communities in the area with the impression that lsquoShell is the only government we knowrsquo (p406)

(see also SPDC 2001)

It was in the context of the socio-economic crisis partly occasioned by the collapse of the external oil

sector and the continued neglect of the Niger Delta by the government-oil companiesrsquo partnership

that the spirit of resistance in the region was revived (Courson 2009) These agitations and pressures

for revenue derivation have been channelled through youth movements pioneered by Ken Saro-

Wiwa renowned writer and environmentalist activist who founded a grass-roots movement in the

early 1990s called lsquoMovement for the Survival of Ogoni Peoplersquo (MOSOP) MOSOP campaigned as

a grass-roots organisation and demanded local autonomy for the Ogoni people and Ogoniland Saro-

Wiwa challenged both the Nigerian state and the oil companies for social accountability and

environmental damages Under his leadership MOSOP successfully stopped Shell Petroleum

Development Company (SPDC) and all oil exploration activities in the whole of Ogoniland through

peaceful non-violent mass action in 1993 Consequently and using the apparatus of the state as

usual lsquothe Nigerian state under the authoritarian military regime led by General Sani Abacha

repressed the Ogoni campaign using military force Many MOSOP cadres and Ogoni people suffered

from the military campaigns against the Ogoni and some fled into exile or went underground This

culminated in the arrest torture detention trial and widely condemned execution by hanging of Ken

Saro-Wiwa along with eight leaders of MOSOP on 10 November 1995 on the orders of a special

tribunal and sanctioned by the military ruling councilrsquo (Courson 2009 p13)

66 Poverty Amidst Plenty A Resource Curse

The problems of community resistance in the Niger Delta have made the place increasingly

uncomfortable for oil companies to do business Community protests frequently stop multinational

225

production and the violence has worsened as weapons have flowed into the Niger Delta and militias

and community members have become more deeply involved in piracy and illegal bunkering

The complicity of the state is noted in this development although Shell and other oil companies in

Nigeria have argued that they are into business and not governance and that they work separately

from the process of governing the country It is observed that all the onshore joint ventures run by

the oil multinationals are majority-owned by the government This relationship is bound together in a

manner that lacks accountability and transparency (Peel 2005)

One of the demands of the Niger Delta communities is that there should be an increase in the

percentage of oil revenues that are fed back by the Federal Government to the oil-producing states ndash

this demand was considered by other states in the federation to mean lsquomore money for the Niger

Delta states less for rest of the countryrsquo (Smock 2009) It is the opinion of this researcher that if

some of the demands of the people of the Niger Delta are granted restiveness and agitations would

reduce and oil production would increase significantly and the whole country could benefit

67 Conclusion

Labour flexibility trends are continuously being adopted in Shell and the situation requires

commitment from all the parties employers employees and the government to achieve healthy and

peaceful workplace relations service providers and customers For this to be achievable new

strategies and mechanisms that take into consideration the workersrsquo and communityrsquos needs should

be adopted Such strategies and mechanisms should be geared towards ensuring that there is security

of employment job satisfaction community participation accountability and transparency

226

Chapter Seven


Nigerian Oil Workersrsquo Song

Oil job is not good

Who can make soup with oil

Who can drink oil

Impossible

The white manrsquos trouble is more than oil

They want us to work hard

But donrsquot want to pay us well

The rich eat while the poor work

71 Introduction

This study has considered the impacts of labour market reforms on job security of employees of

Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria There is no doubt that the work processes have

changed due to the introduction of labour flexibility trends the quality of working life has been

reduced to the minimum possible level particularly among those who had to be moved from the core

segment to the periphery and worker commitment and loyalty that was the feature of the company is

no longer existing

It has been established that there is a negative relationship between labour market reforms and

employment security in Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria and secondly the

growing insecurities in employment and wages in Shell are linked to the ongoing restructuring in the

company

The conclusion of this research work might not necessarily provide a detailed summary of the

preceding chapters rather the first part of the chapter is an attempt to discuss the Nigerian oil sector

and the oil workers This thesis has offered an account of how the labour flexibility trends taking

place in Shell Nigeria have impacted job security quality of work life and poverty level

227

The chapter also presented major issues in the Nigerian oil sector which include employment

insecurity and unrest in the Niger Delta region Conclusions were made based on the research

questions For the purposes of this discussion Shell workers include all employees of the company

regardless of rank Changes within the workforce affect all echelons and particular initiatives

usually involve both white- and blue-collar oil workers Shell workers are among the best paid of

Nigeriarsquos international corporate employees and also constituted an elite within the public sector

with respect to salaries until the 1983 to 1986 retrenchment drive and the subsequent conversion of

most of the employees to the peripheral segment of the internal labour market

Historically Shell employees like workers in other petroleum companies in Nigeria have been

divided along four main lines ethnicity job rank whether employment is in private or public

corporations and whether jobs are permanent or temporary Government oil workers have protected

jobs and benefit more than their private sector counterparts This reflects the statersquos greater

vulnerability to industrial action Employees in the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum

Corporation have leverage based on inside information and could engage in exposeacutes if provoked

They also know how dependent the state is on their work for revenues Finally a tradition of job

security in the public service provides state employees with more protection than is available to

workers in oil multinationals and service contracting firms With the financial crisis of the state

wages due to school teachers civil servants and even soldiers and professors are late or unpaid In

contrast state-employed oil workers have continued to receive their pay packets In Shell workers

are represented by union formations based on the senior and junior staff status division

PENGASSAN (Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria) for senior and

NUPENG (National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers) for junior staff The former is

affiliated with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) while the later affiliates to the Nigerian Labour

Congress The oil price crash and recession have exacerbated some differences reduced others and

fostered new patterns of solidarity These unions were created in 1977 and 1978

72 Findings

This study among other things discovered the role of oil in the Nigerian economy and how state

dependence on oil has brought about slow economic growth and a high level of corruption Other

findings include

228

721 Unemployment

The activities of Shell and other multinational oil giants has caused environmental damages in the

Niger Delta culminating in the destruction of traditional occupations of fishing and farming and

consequently loss of jobs and sources of livelihood to members of the communities who have

survived and thrived on this type of economy and now suddenly find themselves without gainful

employment and thus unable to provide for the basic needs of their families

Young men and women needing jobs look to the oil industry but oil is an enclave industry and only

employs a few people with highly specialised skills Some community members lack these skills and

even those who have the requisite skills have not always been successful in securing the well-paying

oil industry jobs (Duruigbo 2004)

722 Mineral Wealth Resources and Poverty

The problems created by the discovery of abundant oil in Nigeria have led to social political and

labour unrest This is however not a unique feature to the Nigerian society For example in South

Africa therersquos the Marikana mine experience during which 34 striking workers were shot dead by

police for protesting the exploitation and bad working conditions and many others abound in other

African nations and Persian Gulf

723 Workersrsquo Dissatisfaction

It is found out that majority of the workers affected by the flexibility trends are not satisfied with

their jobs in Shell this dissatisfaction arises because their economic and social status have not

changed as contract staff they have become vulnerable and lack security of employment

724 Union Repression and Collective Bargaining

The power of unions in Shell has been weakened segmented workers are not allowed to be

unionised despite concerted efforts by unions to organise them and this has led to loss of members

and dues The atypical workers are paid differentially depending on the agency that employed them

and efforts to form a bargaining council by these categories of workers has been suppressed by the

229

outsourcing agencies who insisted that they will determine what the workers earn unilaterally and

according to their ability to pay The temporary staff could be dismissed instantly for attempts to

organise the workers and resistance

725 Workers and Community Restiveness

Shell workers peasants and other residents in the oil-producing communities have mobilised

together against the state In 1986 ndash and since then a recurrent development ndash 400 Bonny Island

residents including Shell workers shut down the largest oil export terminal in Africa on the grounds

that Shell the operator of the terminal disrupted their lives and contributed nothing (Turner 1986)

Oil-producing communities as well as Nigerians living near production and exploration sites

consider themselves entitled to employment by the oil companies ndash when this dream is not

achievable they engage in oil theft and pipeline sabotage Government effort to reduce this by the

provision of legislation that made these activities punishable by death has not reduced the activities

of the vandals

Turner and Brownhill (2004) explain that about 600 Itsekiri women occupied the oil giantrsquos 450 000

barrels a day (bd) at Escravos export terminal and tank yard for ten days after several

correspondences with the oil company failed to yield any meaningful result In their ten-day

takeover the women negotiated 26 demands with corporate management which included a demand

that the government and oil companies meet with rural women and establish a permanent tripartite

body (multinationals state and women) for the resolution of problems related to oil operations They

signed a memorandum of understanding committing ChevronTexaco to the upgrading of 15

members of the communities who are contract staff to permanent staff status

726 Gender and Work Organisation

It was discovered in the course of this study that about 15 percent of the overall workforce is female

concentrated in administrative public relations medical and legal departments The main reasons for

this gender imbalance Fajana (2005) observed are the volatile nature of the oil industry the remote

location of work sites and the family work conflicts lsquoFamily-friendlyrsquo work organisation although

not specifically a gender issue can certainly affect womenrsquos perceptions of an industry Current

working time arrangements in Shell contribute lsquopossibly very littlersquo to the promotion of gender

230

equality and few arrangements have been made so far to reconcile working in Shell with family life

Graham (201039) similarly observed that as women continue to participate in the paid labour

market in increasing numbers and with families becoming more reliant on more than one wage

earner traditional solutions to reconciling work and family life are under great strain

727 Sales of Oil Blocks

It was further discovered that Shell Nigeria is putting up for sale four onshore Niger Delta oil blocks

with a combined production of about 70 000 barrels per day (bpd) This development is coming up

as they remain a major target for vandals and oil thieves whom the company says stole 100 000

barrels a day in the first quarter of this year (Reuters 2013) This in the opinion of the researcher is

a move by Shell to divest investments and assets from the area a development that will further

impact on the job security of the oil workers who are already insecure and demoralised particularly

the atypical workers

728 Environmental Insecurity in the Niger Delta

The operation of Shell and other oil multinationals has led to degradation of the Niger Delta region

Environmental security is lsquothe relative public safety of environmental damages caused by natural or

human processes due to ignorance accident mismanagement or design and originating within or

across the national bordersrsquo It has been seen as lsquothe state of human-environment dynamics that

includes restoration of the environment damaged by military actions and amelioration of resource

scarcities environmental degradation and biological threats that could lead to social disorder and

conflictrsquo as well as lsquofreedom from social instability due to environmental degradationrsquo (Glenn et al

1998 p1ndash2 in Omotola 2007)

The state response to the deepening crisis was the establishment of the OMPADEC and the NDDC

These institutions have moderated the crisis but they remain inadequate and ineffective due to

political influences corruption lack of representation and other underlying structural problems

231

73 Policy Recommendation

The petroleum sector of the Nigerian economy will continue to be a vital source of growth for the

Nigerian economy (Fajana 2005) It will create obstacles to poverty alleviation and government is

almost certain to remain highly dependent on oil for many years to come This will continue to create

obstacles to poverty alleviation Still there are four measures the Nigerian Government could take to

help overcome these obstacles

731 Labour Regulation and Administration

One of the best solutions is for the government to make guidelines on labour administration issues on

contract staffing and outsourcing in the oil and gas sector like additionally laws should be made to

sanction employers who deviate from the standard rules One strategy would be for Nigeria to adopt

the lsquoSouth African approachrsquo with its observed effectiveness of enforcement of labour regulations

where labour market institutions such as industrial councils (now called bargaining councils) and

wage boards set sectoral minimum wages and stipulate working conditions in many industries in the

country These minimum wages and stipulations are made applicable to all firms in the industry and

region irrespective of their sizes and structures Additionally there are serious penalties for flouting

the agreements of these institutions (Kingdon et al 2006 )

732 Institutional Framework

The government seems to be more concerned with environmental insecurity in the Niger Delta than

employment insecurity Hence the establishment of agencies like the Niger Delta Development

Board in 1961 OMPADEC in 1992 and NDDC in 2000 with substantial financial resources to

tackle the local underdevelopment Despite these responses the environmental insecurity and

developmental problems of the delta do not seem to have abated significantly largely due to the high

level of corruption in these agencies The socioeconomic conditions of the segmented oil workers

remain at best manageable and at worst hardly bearable It is therefore recommended that the

government should set up a similar institutional framework to alleviate the problems and challenges

of segmented workers in the oil and gas sector

733 Work Protection and Collective Bargaining

232

Collective bargaining has gained root in the Nigerian upstream oil and gas industry and has been

deployed in the regulation of employment relationships in this strategic sector of the economy The

two workersrsquo unions in this sector namely Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of

Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG)

have gained considerable bargaining power and have repeatedly taken advantage the strategic

importance of this sector to national economic development However several attempts by these to

organise segmented workers in Shell and generally in the oil companies in Nigeria have been resisted

by the employer (Fajana 2005) It is the opinion of this researcher that this category of workers as

well as expatriates should be allowed to organise themselves into unions for the purpose of

collective bargaining

734 Regulatory Compliances

Several justifications had been advanced by both employers and government agencies for business

models and employment policies necessitating outsourcing and other forms of atypical employment

(John 2011) The study has shown that there was little regulatory framework by the Government of

Nigeria on segmented workers and official enforcement is low on the very few that exists On the

part of employers compliance is low and this is encouraged by weak institutional capacity

(Adewumi and Adedugba 2010) It is therefore suggested that workplace regulations should be

legally enforced by the Ministry of Labour through factory inspector regular visits to the oil

companies

In addition the following three important recommendations are hereby put forward First the

researcher believes that there is an urgent need for an overhaul in the international business strategies

pursued by multinational companies such as Shell Nigeria Ethical business considerations should be

placed high and above the profit to be made Shell and other multinational companies operating in

Nigeria should openly demonstrate a willingness to be socially responsible in creating stable jobs

Second this investigation recommends that the Nigerian Government in conjunction with the

multinational companies in the oil sector make a concerted effort towards moving the Nigerian oil

industry from solely a secondary workforce to expanding the primary workforce to cater for the

indigenous workersrsquo needs The Nigerian Government should endeavour to safeguard workers within

233

the precarious segments of the labour markets This can be done by enacting reviewing and

implementing the labour and employment laws to cater for the natural progression of workers from

the peripheral of the flexible firm model into the core within a short period of time ndash one to two years

is hereby suggested

74 Contribution to Knowledge

The main thrust of this investigation is to evaluate the importance of labour market segmentation of

workers in Shell Petroleum Development Company operating in Nigeria This research work

described and analysed the important characteristics of labour market segmentation and flexibility of

workers in Shell Nigeria highlighted the dilemmas this strategy poses for Shell workers and labour-

management relations and critically assessed the kind of flexibility policy the management of Shell is

pursuing in order to secure the future of the company

This study has made both empirical and theoretical contributions to the study and scholarship of

industrial and labour relations It is unique because it deviated from the dominant trend of discourse

and debates While reviewing the literature I discovered that the majority of the research on non-

standard employment in Nigeria has focussed on labour standards and regulations psychological

contracts and workersrsquo rights all of which pointed to either helping in sustaining the survivors of this

work arrangement or assisting the employer to continue the exploitation of non-standard workers

At a time when there are very few scholars donor agencies or organisations that bother to study the

conditions of oil workers and how to transform them this study not only made important

contributions to the advancement of knowledge and workersrsquo rights in Nigeria it also exposed the

excessive exploitation poverty and deprivation of Nigerian workers in Shell and the level of

employment insecurity under which they work at a time when their employer is generating the

greatest amount of wealth ever known in human history

This investigation fills the research gap by using data from Shell Nigeria in evaluating the methods

that Shell management adopts in its efforts to restructure its workforce

234

75 Suggestions for Further Studies

In relation to further research studies I must confess that I have only engaged in one case study

therefore limiting my investigation to Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria It would

be interesting not only to consider a comparative study of two or more oil companies in Nigeria but

also two or more industries andor two or more views of these categories of workers from two

countries

Additionally apart from the petroleum sector whose non-standard employment is assumed to be

unreasonably high most of the multinationals enslave Nigerians in the guise of providing

employment this implies that the scourge of lsquocasualisationrsquo and other forms of labour flexibility is

not limited to the oil and gas industry It is suggested that a study like this should be conducted in the

banking sector of the Nigerian economy where a noticeable number of the workers are in the

peripheral segment of the internal labour market

76 Conclusion

Prior to arriving at any conclusion the objectives of this study were revisited in order to advance

recommendations in tandem with the overall objectives The engagements between the researcher

and the workers of Shell Petroleum Development Company revealed that there is a negative

relationship between labour market reforms and employment security in Shell Petroleum

Development Company in Nigeria Secondly the growing insecurities in employment and wages in

Shell Nigeria are linked to the ongoing restructuring in the sector

The conclusion arrived at is consistent with the theoretical frameworks utilised in this study which

include the labour theory of value the institutional theory the contract theory of the labour market

and the human captain theory ndash these theories were selected because they depict the development

taking place in Shell Nigeria The study revealed as stated by all the respondents that non-standard

or a typical workers experience acute financial difficulties because of their unstable income and

employment insecurity Whilst reduction in labour costs was the main reason given by the

respondents for the introduction and implementation of flexible work arrangements employees of

Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria lamented the loss of loyalty and commitment on

the part of non-standard employees It is therefore established that there is a negative relationship

235

between labour market reforms and employment security in Shell Petroleum Development Company

in Nigeria Secondly the growing insecurities in employment and wages in Shell Nigeria are linked

to the ongoing restructuring in the sector

236

References

Abilio LC 2012 Making up Exploitation Direct Selling Cosmetics and forms of Precarious

Labour in Modern Brazil International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy

6(1) 59-70

Acemoglu D Aghion P amp Violante G 2001 ldquoDeunionization Technical Change and

Inequalityrdquo Carnegie- Rochester Conferences Series on Public Policy

Addison J amp Surfield C 2005 Atypical Work and Compensationrsquo IZA Discussion Paper

No1477

Adeleye I 2011 The Diffusion of Employment Flexibility in Nigeria Banking Industry Its Nature

Extent and Cause International Journal of Business and Management 6(4) 150-160

Adesina JO 1994 Labour in the explanation of an African crisis A critique of current orthodoxy

The case of Nigeria Dakar Codesria

Adesina J 1995 State industrial relations and accumulation regime in Nigeria Reflections on

issues of governance Ibadan Journal of the Social Science 1(1) 1-26

Adewumi F 2007 Unity and division the dialectics of the Nigerian trade union movement African

Journal of Business Management 1(2)

Adewumi F 2012 The Global Economy Trade Unions and the Protection of Workers Rights in

Nigeria Working USA 15(4) 529-547

African Economic Outlook 2013 ldquoYouth in African Labour Market Too many bad jobs in

poor countries too few jobs in Middle Income countriesrdquo Downloaded from

httpwwwafricaneconomicoutlookorgenin-depthyouth_employmentyouth in African-

labour-marketsAccessed October 14 2013

Agar M 1986 Speaking Ethnography Beverly Hills CA SAGE

Ahearn RJ 2007 Globalization Worker Insecurity and Policy Approaches Library of Congress

Washington Dc Congressional Research Service

Aiyede ER 2004 United we stand labour unions and human rights NGOs in the democratisation

process in Nigeria Development in Practice 14(1-2) 224-233

Akindele KL 2008 Flexible Labour Markets Firms and Workers In Hollingshead G Nicholls

P amp Tailby S Employee Relations London Financial Times Management

Aladekomo FO 2004 Casual labour in Nigeria Urban Centre Journal of Social Sciences (9) 207-

213

237

Allen et al 1995 Three Dimensions of Labour Utilisation Job Broadening Employment Insecurity

and Work Intensification Current Research in Industrial Relations Volume 1

Allen NJ amp Meyer JP 1996 Affective Continuance and Normative Commitment to the

Organization An Examination of Construct Validity Journal of Vocational Behavior 49(3)

252-276

Alozie C 2009 Recession Temporary Employment the new toast of Employersrsquo General NBF

Topics Retrieved on 7th October 2013 from httpwwwnigeriabestforumcom

Alves G 2000 New (And Precarious) Work Productive Restructuring and Crisis of Unionism Sao

Paulo Boitempo

Amoore L 2002 Globalization Contested An International Political Economy of Work London

Manchester University Press

Anugwom EE 2007 Globalization and Labour utilisation in Nigeria Evidence from the

Construction Industry Africa Development 32 (2)

Appelbaum E Bailey T Berg P amp Kalleberg A L 2000 ldquoManufacturing Advantage Why High

Performance Systems Pay-Off Ithaca NY Cornel University Press

Arrighi G amp Moore J 2001 Capitalist Development in World Historical Perspective Phases of

Capitalist Development Booms Crises and Globalizations In R Albritton Makoto I Westra

R amp Zuege A London Palgrave 56-75

Arubuola R 1999 Unemployment Benefits System and active Labour Market Policies in

Nigeria MSc Theses University of Lagos Department of Economics

Arulampalam W amp Booth A 1998 Training and Labour Market Flexibility There is a Trade

Off The British Journal of Industrial Relations (36) 521-536

Arvanitas S Hollenstein H amp Marmet D 2002 Numerical and functional flexibility what is at

stake for the Swiss economy Swiss national report for the EU project ldquoFlexibility and

competitiveness labour market flexibility innovation and organizational performancerdquo

(FlexCom) KOF-Arbeitspapiereworking papers No64 July Zurich

Asiki A 2008 Flexibility Planning for an Uncertain Future in South African Industries Manpower

Policy and Practice (1) 26ndash28

Asika N 2004 Research Methodology Process Approach Lagos Makugama Brothers

_______ 1986 Research Methodology in the Behavioural Sciences Lagos Longman

238

Atkinson J amp Meager N 1986 Changing working patterns How companies achieve flexibility to

meet new needs London National Economic Development Office

Atkinson J 1985 Flexibility Planning for an uncertain future Manpower Policy and Practice (1)

26-28

___________1985 b Flexibility Uncertainty and Manpower Management (Vol 89) Brighton

Institute of Manpower Studies

Atkinson J 1987 Flexibility or fragmentation The United Kingdom labour market in the eighties

Labour and society 12 (1) 87ndash105

Auer P 2006 Protected mobility for employment and decent work Labour market security in a

globalized world Journal of Industrial Relations 48(1) 21-40

Autor DH amp Houseman SN 2012 Do temporary-help jobs improve labour market outcomes for

low-skilled workers Evidence from Work First America Economic Journal Applied

Economics 96-128

Babalola JB 2003 Budget Preparation and Expenditure Control in Education Basic text in

Educational Planning Ibadan Awemark Industrial Printers

Babatunde MA amp Adefabi RA 2005 Long Run Relationship between education and economic

growth in Nigeria Evidence from the Johansenrsquos Co-integration Approach Education in West

Africa Paper Presented at the Regional Conference on Education in West Africa Constraints

and Opportunities Dakar Senegal November 1st - 2nd Cornell UniversityCREA Ministegraverede

lrsquoEducation Du Seacuteneacutegal

Babbie E amp Mouton J 2004 The Practice of Social Research London Oxford University Press

_____________________2001 The Practice of Social Research South Africa Edition Cape Town

Oxford University Press

Baker D Glyn A Howell DR amp Schmitt J 2004 Labor market institutions and

unemployment Assessment of the cross-country evidence Fighting unemployment The

limits of free market orthodoxy 72-118

Bamidele R 2011 Casualisation and labour utilization in Nigeria Unpublished paper presented at

the African Regional Congress of IIRA Lagos

Barbrook R 2006 The Class of the New London Openmuteorg

Barchiesi F 1996 The social construction of labour in the struggle for democracy the case of

post‐independence Nigeria Review of African Political Economy 23(69) 349-369

239

Barker WG 2007 Sociological Dimensions of Researching Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflicts in

Nigeria Study presented at the Methodology Workshop Ethnic Mapping Project Programme

on Ethnic and Federal Studies University of Ibadan Nigeria

Bashir M Afzal MT amp Azeem M 2008 Reliability and validity of qualitative and operational

research paradigm Pakistan Journal of Statistics and Operation Research 4(1)

Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Republic of South Africa 1997)

Bassanini A amp Ernst E 2002 ldquoLabour market regulation industrial relations and technological

regimes A tale of comparative advantagerdquo Industrial and Corporate Change 11(3) 391ndash426

Baxter P amp Jack S 2008 Qualitative case study methodology Study design an implementation

for novice researchers The Qualitative Report 13(4) 544-559

Beardwell J amp Claydon T (Eds) 2007 Human Resource Management A Contemporary

Approach Pearson Education

Beatson M 1995 Labour market flexibility Employment Research Unit Employment

Department Research series No 48

Beaumont PB amp Harris RI 1998 The importance of national institutional arrangements

The case of trade union membership and unemployment International Journal of Human

Resource Management 9(6) 1064-1075

Becker G S 2009 Human Capital A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis With Special Reference

to Education London University of Chicago Press

___________1993 Nobel lecture The economic way of looking at behavior Journal of Political

Economy 385-409

Becker SO amp Woessmann L 2009 Was Weber wrong A human capital theory of protestant

economic history The Quarterly Journal of Economics 124(2) 531 596

Begg I 1995 Factor mobility and regional disparities in the European union Oxford Review of

Economic Policy 11(2) 96-112

Bell PF 1977 Marxist Theory Class Struggle and the Crisis of Capitalism The Subtle Anatomy

of Capitalism 170-194

Belot M amp Van Ours JC 2000 ldquoDoes The Recent Success of Some OECD Countries in lowering

their Unemployment Rates lie in the Clever Design of their Labour Market Reformsrdquo

Oxford Economic Papers 56(4) 62-642

240

Benjamin YD 2005 The Flexible Firm A Model in Search of Reality (or a Policy in Search of a

Practice) Warwick Studies in Industrial Relations 19

Bentolila S Dolado JJ Franz W amp Pissarides C 1994 Labour flexibility and wages Lessons

from Spain Economic Policy 55-99

Bertola G 2008 Labour Markets in EMU-What has Changed and what needs to change (No338)

Directorate General Economic and Monetary Affairs (DGECFIN) European Commission

Besley T amp Burgess R 2004 Can Labour Regulation Hinder Economic Performance Evidence

from India The Quarterly Journal of Economics 119(1) 91-134

Bhattacharya M Gibson D E amp Doty D H 2005 The effects of flexibility in employee skills

employees behaviors and human resources practices on firm performance Journal of

Management 31(4) 622-640

Bhorat H amp Hinks TJ 2006ldquoChanging pattern of employment and employer employee relations

in post-apartheid South Africa Research report for the Danish federation of workersrdquo Cape

Town National Labour and Economic Development Institute

Bhorat H 2001ldquoEmployment Trends in South Africardquo FES and DPRU Occasional Paper

No2 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Development Policy Research Unit

Blaikie N 2000 Designing social research1st ed Cambridge Polity Press

Blanchard O 2006 European unemployment The evolution of facts and ideas Economic

Policy 21(45) 5-59

Blanchard O amp Giavazzi F 2003 ldquoMacroeconomics effects of regulation and deregulation in

goods and labour marketsrdquo The Quarterly Journal of Economics 118(3) 879-907

Bodibe O 2006 The Extent and Effects of Casualisation in Southern Africa Analysis of Lesotho

Mozambique South Africa Swaziland Zambia and Zimbabwe Johannesburg National Labour

and Economic Development Institute

Booth AL Francesconi M amp Frank J 2002 Temporary Jobs Stepping stones or dead ends The

Economic Journal 112(480) F189-F213

Botero JC Djankov S La Porta R Lopez-de-Silanes F amp Shleifer A 2004 The regulation of

labour The Quarterly Journal of Economics 119(4) 1339-1382

Bowles S amp Gintis H 1975 The problem with human capital theory A Marxian critique The

American Economic Review 65(2) 74-82

241

Boyer R 2006 Employment and decent work in the era of flexicurity Working Paper No 2006ndash21

Paris Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques

Bromley DB 1990 Academic contributions to psychological counselling A philosophy of science

for the study of individual cases Counselling Psychology Quarterly 3(3) 299-307

Bronchi C 2003 The effectiveness of public expenditure in Portugal OECD

Bryman A 1984 The debate about quantitative and qualitative research A question of method or

epistemology British Journal of Sociology 75-92

Bryman A and Bell E 2001 Business research methods Oxford University Press

Burchell BJ 1999 The unequal distribution of job insecurity 1966-86 International Review of

Applied Economics 13(3) 437-458

Burgess J amp Connell J 2006 Temporary work and human resources management Issues

challenges and responses Personnel Review 35(2) 129-140

Buumlssing A 1999 Can control at work and social support moderate psychological consequences of

job insecurity Results from a quasi-experimental study in the steel industry European Journal

of Work and Organizational Psychology 8 219-242

Cahuc P and Postel-Vinay F 2002 ldquoTemporary Jobs Employment Protection and Labour

Market Performancerdquo Labour Economics 9(1) 63-91

Cain GG 1975 The challenge of dual and radical theories of the labour market to orthodox theory

The American Economic Review 65 (2) 16-22

Cambell I 1996 Casual employment labour regulation and Australian trade unions Journal of

Industrial Relations 38 (4) 571- 599

Campbell JL amp Lindberg LN 1990 Property rights and the organization of economic activity by

the state American Sociological Review 634-647

Cappelli P amp Neumark D 2004 External churning and internal flexibility Evidence on the

functional flexibility and core‐periphery hypotheses Industrial Relations A Journal of

Economy and Society 43 (1) 148-182

Caraway T L 2012 labour standards and labour market flexibility in East Asia Studies in

Comparative international development 45(2) 225-249

Carlson J Fosmire M Miller CC amp Nelson MS 2011 Determining data information

literacy needs A study of students and research faculty portal Libraries and the Academy

11(2) 629-657

242

Cass D 2011 On capital overaccumulation in the aggregative neoclassical model of economic

growth A complete characterization The Collected Scientific Work of David Cass Part A

191

Castree N Coe N Ward K amp Samers M 2003 Spaces of work global capitalism and

geographies of labour London Sage Publications

Castronova E 2002 To aid insure transfer or control what drives the welfare state (No

281) DIW-Diskussionspapiere

Cebekhulu E 2004 Unions Where are they at SALB Volume 28 Number 1 Johannesburg

Umanyano Publications 46-48

Central Intelligence World Fact book Retrieved August 19 2011 from

httpwwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-worldgeosnihtml

Chan S 2013 lsquoI am Kingrsquo Financialisation and the paradox of precarious work The economic and

labour relations review 24(3) 362-379

Charmaz K 2014 Constructing grounded theory Sage

Cheadle H 2006 Regulated flexibility Revisiting the LRA and the BCEA Concept Paper

Unpublished Mimeo University of Cape Town

Chew I K amp Horwitz F M 2002 Downsizing the downside of downsizing A revised planning

model South African Journal of Labour Relations 26 (2) 25 ndash 41

Chirumbolo A amp Hellgren J 2003 Individual and organizational consequences of job insecurity

A European study Economic and Industrial Democracy 24(2) 217-240

Clarke S amp Borisov V 1999 New forms of labour contract and labour flexibility in Russia

Economics of Transition 7(3) 593-614

Clarke GL 2005 Manpower strategies for flexible organizations Personnel Management 28 31

Clasen J amp Clegg D 2003 Unemployment protection and labour market reform in France and

Great Britain in the 1990s Solidarity versus activation Journal of Social Policy 32(3) 361-

381

Clegg SR amp Hardy C 1999 Studying organization Theory and method London Sage

Publications

Clont JG 1992 The concept of reliability as it pertains to data from qualitative studies Paper

presented at the annual meeting of the south west educational research association Houston

Texas

243

Coe NM Johns J amp Ward K 2009 Agents of Casualization The Temporary Staffing Industry

and Labour Market Restructuring in Australia Journal of Economic Geography 9(1) 55-84

Cohen GA 1979 The labour theory of value and the concept of exploitation Philosophy amp Public

Affairs 8(4) 338-360

Conley H 2006 Modernization or casualisation Numerical flexibility in public services

Capitalist and class London Sage Publications 31-57

Connelly CE amp Gallagher DG 2004 Emerging trends in contingent work research Journal of


Conradie BI 2007 What do we mean when we say casualisation of farm work is rising Evidence

from Fruit Farms in the Western Cape Agrekon 46(2) 173-194

Cook T and Campbell D 1979 Quasi-experimentation design and analysis issues for field

settings Boston Houghton Mifflin

Cooke P 2001 Regional innovation systems clusters and the knowledge economy Industrial and

corporate change 10(4) 945-974

Courson E 2009 Movement for the emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) Political

marginalization repression and petro-insurgency in the Niger Delta Discussion Paper

No47 Uppsala Nordic Africa Institute

Cozby PC1989 Methods in behavioural research 3rd ed California Mayfield Press

Creswell JW amp Miller DL 2000 Determining validity in qualitative enquiry Theory into

Practice 39(3) 124-131

Creswell JW 2009 Research design Qualitative quantitative and mixed methods approach

Thousand Oaks CA Sage Publications

Crouch M amp McKenzie H 2006 The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative

research Social science information 45(4) 483-499

Danesi RA 2011 Casualisation and international labour standard The roles of trade unions in

Nigeria US-China Law Review Vol7 No 2

Davies D and Dodd J 2002 Qualitative research and the question of rigor Qualitative health

research 12(2) 279-289

Davy JA Kinicki AJ amp Scheck CL 1997 A test of job securityrsquos direct and mediate effect on

withdrawal cognitions Journal of organizational behavior (18) 323-349

244

De Cuyper N amp De Witte H 2007 Job insecurity in temporary versus permanent workers

associations with attitudes well-being and behaviour Work amp Stress 21(1) 65-84

De Vos A Strydom H amp Fouche C et al 2005 Research at grass roots for social sciences and

human services professions 3rd

Ed Pretoria Van Schaik

De Witte H 2005 Job insecurity Review of the international literature on definitions prevalence

antecedents and consequences SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 31(4)

De Witte H amp Naumlswall K 2003 Objective vs subjective job insecurity Consequences of

temporary work for job satisfaction and organizational commitment in four European

countries Economic and industrial democracy (24) 209-312

Dean A amp Kretschmer M 2007 Can ideas be capital Factors of production in the post-industrial

economy A review and critique Academy of Management Review 32(2) 573-594

Dekare O Udeazor CT amp Alaribe JO 2011 Employment casualization as a modern slavery

European journal of social sciences 22(4) 490- 500

Dickens W amp Lang K 1988 The re-emergence of segmented labour market theory The American

economic review 78 (2) 129-34

___________________1985 ldquoA test of dual labour market theory The American economic review

(75) 792-805

DiMaggio P J 1988 Interest and agency in institutional theory Institutional patterns and

organizations Culture and Environment 1 3-22

DiPrete TA Goux D Maurin E amp Quesnel-Valleacutee A 2003 Work and pay in flexible and

regulated labour markets A generalized perspective on institutional evolution and inequality

trends in Europe and the US (No SP I 2003-109) Social Science Research Center Berlin

(WZB)

Doeringer P B amp Piore M J 1971 Internal labour markets and manpower analysis ME Sharpe

Druker J amp Stanworth C 2004 Mutual expectations a study of the three‐way relationship between

employment agencies their client organizations and white-collar agency lsquotempsrsquo Industrial

relations journal 35(1) 58-75

Dunlop J Keer C Lester R amp Reynolds L 1999 How labour market works reflections on

theory and practice In Kaufman B E (ED) London Lexington Books

Duruigbo E 2004 Managing Oil Revenues for Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria The Case

for Community-Based Trust Funds NCJ Intl L amp Com Reg 30-121

245

Easton G 1995 Case Research as a Methodology for Industrial Networks A Realist Apologia In

IMP Conference (11th) (Vol 11) IMP

Edwards T amp Ferner A 2002 The renewed lsquoAmerican challengersquo A review of employment

practice in US multinationals Industrial relations journal 33 94-111

Eichengreen B amp James H 2003 Monetary and financial reform in two eras of globalization In

globalization in historical perspective (pp 515-548) University of Chicago Press

Eisenhardt KM 1989 Building theories from case study research The Academy of

Management Review 14(4) 532-550

Eisner EW 1986 The enlightened eye Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of

educational practice New York Macmillan

Ensberger DC (nd) The labour theory of value (An analysis) in Wollstein J(ed) Retrieved March

26 2013 from httpwwwisilorgresources litlabourtheoryvalhtml

Fajana S 2005 Industrial relations in the oil industry in Nigeria (No 385797) International

Labour Organization

___________2000a Sexual divisions and the dual labour market in Nigeria In DLeonard amp S

Allen (eds) Sexual Divisions Revisited (pp 151-156) London Macmillan

___________2000b Functioning of the Nigerian labour market Labofin and co

___________1998 International labour standards and occupational health and safety an

Unpublished Seminar Paper delivered at a SESCAN Programme

____________1987 Economic recession collective bargaining and labour market segmentation in

Nigeria Management Review CMD Lagos 2 (1) p9-16

Fallon P amp Pereira da Silva L 1994 ldquoSouth Africa economic performance and policiesrdquo World

Bank informal discussion papers on aspects of the South African economy No12 The

Southern Africa Department Washington DC The World Bank

Fallon P and Lucas R 1998 ldquoSouth African labour markets adjustments and inequalitiesrdquo

World Bank Informal Discussion Paper No 12 Washington DC The World Bank

Federal Office of Statistics Report 1990 httplcweb2locgovfrdcsprofilesNigeriapdf


Feldman DC Doerpinghaus H I amp Tumley W H 1995 Employee reactions to temporary jobs

Journal of managerial issues 7 (2) 127-241

246

Ferber M amp Waldfogel J 1998 The long-term consequences of non-traditional employment

Monthly Labour Review 121 (5)3-12

Ferrie JE Shipley MJ Marmot MG Stansfeld S A amp Smith GD 1998 An uncertain future

the health effects of threats to employment security in white -collar men and women American

journal of public health (88) 1030-1036

Ferrie JE 2001 Is job insecurity harmful to health Journal of the royal society of medicine 94(2)

71

Figari C 2001 Logical quality training and modernization Labour studies journal (22) 95-120

Fine B 2003 ldquoContesting labour marketsrdquo in Alfredo Saad-Fillio (ed) Anti capitalism A

Marxist Introduction London Pluto press

Florida R Mellander C amp Stolarick K 2008 Inside the black box of regional developmentmdash

human capital the creative class and tolerance Journal of economic geography 8(5) 615-649

Forchuk C amp Roberts J 1993 How to critique qualitative research articles Canadian Journal of

Nursing Research 25 47-47

Foddy 1993 Constructing questions for interview and questionnaires London Cambridge

University Press

Fourie ES 2008 Non-standard workers The South African Context International Law and

Regulation by the European Union Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal Potchefstroomse

Elektroniese Regsblad 11(4) 110-152

Freeman RB 2009 Labour Regulations Unions and Social Protection in Developing Countries

Market Distortions or Efficient Institutions (Now14789) National Bureau of Economic

Research

_____________2005 Labour market institutions without blinders The debate over flexibility and

labour market performance International economic journal 19 (2) 129-145

_____________1995 The limit of wage flexibility to curing unemployment Oxford review of

Economic policy 11 (1) Spring 214-222

Frynas JG 1998 Political instability and business Focus on Shell in Nigeria Third World

Quarterly 19(3) 457-478

Gallie D White M Cheng Y amp Tomlinson M 1998 Restructuring the employment

relationship Oxford Clarendon Press

247

Gay A amp Diehl P 1992 Research methods for business amp management New York MacMillan

Press

Gbosi SA 1996 Flexible firms and labour market segmentation effects of workplace

restructuring on jobs and workers Work and Occupation 30(2) 154ndash174

Giacomini MK 2001 The rocky road qualitative research as evidence (EMBNote) Evidence

Based Medicine

Gilley KM amp Rasheed A 2000 Making more by doing less an analysis of outsourcing and its

effect on firm performance Journal of management 26(4) 763-790

Go DS Kearney M Korman V Robinson S amp Thierfelder K 2012 Wage subsidy and labour

market flexibility in South Africa The Journal of Development Studies 46(9) 1481-1502

Golafshani N 2003 Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research The qualitative

report 8(4) 597-607

Gordon DF 1976 A neo-classical theory of Keynesian unemployment In Carnegie Rochester

Conference Series on Public Policy1 65-97 North Holland

Graham I 2012 Working conditions of contract workers in the oil and gas industries Geneva

International Labour Organization

Gray DE 2004 Doing research in the real world London Sage publications

Greenwald B C amp Stiglitz JE 1988 Keynesian new Keynesian and new Classical Economics

(No 2160) National Bureau of Economic Research Inc

Greenhalgh L amp Rosenblatt Z 1984 Job insecurity Toward conceptual clarity Academy of

management review 3 438-448

Grinnel M amp Williams S 1990 Research methods USA Peacock Press

Guasch J L amp Hahn R W 1999 The Costs and Benefits of Regulation Implications for

developing countries The World Bank Research Observer 14(1) 137-158

Guba EG amp Lincoln YS 1981 Effective evaluation San Francisco Jossey Bass

Hall BH amp Mairesse J 2006 Empirical studies of innovation in the knowledge driven economy

Economics of innovation and new technology 15(4-5) 289-299

Haralambos M 1985 Sociology Themes and perspectives 2nd ed Britain University Tutorial Press

Hardley TU 2009 Flexibility and the Reorganization of Work In Burchell B Ladipo D amp

Wilkinson F (Eds) Job insecurity and work intensification London Routledge

Hardt M and Negri A 2000 Empire London Rvard University Press

248

Harman C 2007 The rate of profit and the world today International Socialism 115 141

Hartley ALJ 1998 Organizational commitment and job insecurity in a changing public service

organization European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 7(3) 341-354

Hartley J Jacobson D Klandermans B amp van Vuuren T 1986 Job Insecurity Coping With Jobs

at Risk London Sage

Harvey D 2011 The enigma of capital and the crises of capitalism Profile Books

__________1989 The Postmodern Condition An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change

Oxford (UK) Blackwell

Harvey D1989 The Condition of Post Modernity An Enquiry to the Origins of Cultural Change

Cambridge Blackwell Publishers

Havran H Visser D amp Crous F 2003 The internal career orientation of permanent and

contracting information technology staff SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 29(3) 53

Head J amp Lucas R 2004 Does individual employment legislation constrain the ability of

hospitality employers to ldquohire and firerdquo International journal of hospitality management

23(3) 239-254

Heaney CA Israel BA amp House JS 1994 Chronic job insecurity among automobile workers

effects n job satisfaction and health Social Science amp Medicine 38(143) 1-37

Heckman J J 2000 The cost of job security regulation evidence from Latin American labour

markets (No w7773) National Bureau of Economic Research

Heckman J J 2002 Chinas investment in human capital (No w9296) National Bureau of

Economic Research

Herneson ME et al 1987 How to measure attitudes London Sage Publications

Hertzum M Andersen HH Andersen V amp Hansen CB 2002 Trust in information sources

seeking information from people documents and virtual agents Interacting with Computers

14(5) 575-599

Hilsenrath JE 2004 Behind outsourcing debate Surprisingly few hard numbers Wall Street

Journal 12

Hobsbawm E 1976 The crisis of capitalism in historical perspective Socialist Revolution (30) 77-

96

249

Horwitz FM Kamoche K amp Chew IK 2002 Looking East Diffusing high performance

work practices in the southern Afro-Asian context International Journal of Human


Horwitz T Y amp Eskine U I 1995 Casualisation and Contract Employment in the Nigerian Oil

and Gas Industry Study Presented at the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association

of Nigeria Conference P 9

Horwitz M amp Smith DA 1998 Flexible work practices and human resource management a

comparison of South African and foreign owned companies International Journal of Human


Houseman S N 2001 Why employers use flexible staffing arrangements evidence from an

establishment survey Industrial and Labour Relations Review 149-170

Hussey J amp Hussey R 1997 Business research A practical guide for undergraduate and

postgraduate students London Macmillan

Huysamen GR 1997 Psychological measurement 2nd ed Bloemfontein Academica

Huws G O 2012 Employment Flexibility Push or Pull In Corby S amp White G Employee

Relations in the Public Services London Routledge

ICEM 2008 ICEM Guide on Contract and Agency Labour (Geneva September 2008) 74

httpcalicemorg

ILO 1994 Part-time work convention wwwiloorg

ILO 2002 World of work report Better jobs for better economy Geneva International Institute for

Labour Studies

ILO 2012 ldquoGlobal employment trends for youth 2012rdquo Geneva International Labour Office

Isaac S and Xaba J 2002 South Africa in the global economy Trade Union Research Project

Durban University of Natal

Itoh M 1978 The formation of Marxrsquos theory of crisis Science amp Society 42(2) 129-155

Japperson RL 1986 ldquoInstitutions Institutional Effects and Institutionalismrdquo in WW Powell amp PJ

DiMaggio (Eds) The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis 143-163 Chicago

University Of Chicago Press

Jarvis D Isaacs S Nicholas J amp Philips G 1999 Making sense of workplace restructuring Trade

Union Research Project Centre for Industrial Organizational and Labour Studies University

of Natal

250

Jennings DF amp Seaman S L 1994 High and low levels of organizational adaptation An

empirical analysis of strategy structure and performance Strategic management journal

15(6) 459-475

Jessop B 2002 Time and space in the globalization of capital and their implications for state

power Rethinking Marxism Spring (l) 97-117

_________2001 The future of the capitalist state Cambridge Polity

Jha P amp Golder S 2008 Labour market regulations and economic performance critical review of

arguments and some plausible lessons from India Geneva International Labour Office

John M (11 July 3) Nigeria Finding an end to casualisation in country Leadership

Newspaper Abuja Leader Retrieved April 18 2012 from wwwallafricacom

httpallafricacomstoriesprintable201107041659html

Johnson RB 1997 Examining the validity structure of qualitative research Education 118(2)

282-292

Kalaste E amp Eamets R 2004 The lack of wage setting power of Estonian trade unions Baltic

Journal of Economics 5 (1) 44-60 Kalleberg AL 2003 Flexible firms and labor market segmentation effects of workplace

restructuring on jobs and workers Work and occupations 30(2) 154-175

Kalleberg AL 2000 Nonstandard employment relations Part-time temporary and contract

work Annual review of sociology 341-365

Keynes JM 2006 General theory of employment interest and money Atlantic Publishers

Kemmerling A amp Bruttel O 2006 lsquoNew politicsrsquo in German labour market policy The

implications of the recent Hartz reforms for the German welfare state West European Politics

29(1) 90-112

Kerlinger FN 1986 Foundations of behavioral research Fort Worth TX Holt Rinehart and

Winston

Kidder LH Judd CM amp Smith E 1986 Research Methods in Social Relations Published for the

Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Holt Rinehart and Winston New York

Chicago

Kilicaslan Y amp Taymaz E 2008 labour market institutions and industrial performance an

evolutionary study Journal of Evolutionary Economics 18(3) 477-492

251

Kin H S 2008 Challenges and concerns of IT outsourcing a case study of an IT department in a

Public University library Asian Journal of Information Technology 7(8) 337- 343

Kingdon G Sandefur J amp Teal F 2006 Labour Market Flexibility Wages and Incomes in

Sub‐Saharan Africa in the 1990s African Development Review 18(3) 392-427

Kirk J amp Miller M L 1985 Reliability and validity in qualitative research (Vol1) Sage

Publications Incorporated

Klandermans B amp van Vuuren T 1999 Job insecurity introduction European Journal of

Work and Organizational Psychology 8(2) 145-153

Kleinknecht A 1998 Is labour market flexibility harmful to innovation Cambridge Journal of

Economics 22(3) 387-396

Kleinknecht A Oostendorp RM amp Naapstepad C 2006Flexible labour firm performance and

the Dutch creation miracle International Reviews of Applied Economics (20) 171-187

Knox P Agnew J amp McCarthy L 2003 The geography of the world economy London Hodder

Arnold

Kunda G Barley SR amp Evans J 2002 Why do contractors contract The experience of

highly skilled technical professionals in a contingent labor market Industrial and Labor

Relations Review 234-261

Kvasnicka M 2005 Does Temporary Agency Work Provide a Stepping Stone to Regular

Employment (No 2005 031) SFB 649 discussion paper

Lang K 1985 Testing dual labour market theory A reconsideration of the evidence Working

Paper No 1670 Cambridge National Bureau of Economic Research

Laursen K amp Foss NJ 2003 New human resource management practices complementarities and

the impact on innovation performance Cambridge Journal of Economics 27(2) 243-263

Lawrence TB Hardy C amp Phillips N 2002 Institutional effects of interorganizational

collaboration The emergence of proto-institutions Academy of Management Journal

45(1) 281-290

Layard PRG Nickell SJ amp Jackman R 2005 Unemployment Macroeconomic

performance and the labour market London Oxford University Press

Lazear E P 1990 Job security provisions and employment The Quarterly Journal of

Economics 699-726

252

Lebowitz MA 1976 Marxs falling rate of profit a dialectical view Canadian Journal of

Economics 232-254

LeCompte MD amp Preissle J 1993 Ethnography and qualitative design in educational research

San Diego CA Academic Press

Lee JN 2001 The impact of knowledge sharing organizational capability and partnership quality

on IS outsourcing success Information amp Management 38(5) 323-335

Lee GJ amp Faller N 2005 Transactional and relational aspects of the psychological contracts of

temporary workers South African Journal of Psychology 35(4) 831-847

Leedy PD amp Ormrod JE 2001 Practical research Planning and design (9thEd) Merill Upper

Saddle River Prentice Hall Inc

Legge K 1995 Human resource management Rhetorics and realities Management work and

organisations) (pp 1-41) London Macmillan

Leininger MM 1990 Ethnomethods The philosophic and epistemic bases to explicate

transcultural nursing knowledge Journal of Transcultural Nursing 1(2) 40-51

Lewin D Mitchell OS amp Sheerer PD (Eds) 1992 Research frontiers in industrial relations and

human resources Cornell University Press

Lewis JD 2001ldquoPolicies to promote growth and employment in South Africardquo Washington DC

The World Bank Southern African Department

Lindbeck A amp Snower DJ 2001 Insiders versus outsiders Journal of Economic

Perspectives 15(1) 165-188

__________________1988 The insider-outsider theory of employment and unemployment

Cambridge Mass London MIT Press

Mandel E 2013 Karl Marx Accessed 12 September 2013 from

httpwwwmarxsitecomkarl_marxhtm

Mandel E 1984 Ricardo Marx Sraffa The Langston Memorial Volume Verso

Mandel E 1970 The laws of uneven development New Left Review 59 19-38

Mantashe G 2005 Labour market flexibility Will the social impact help Paper Presented at

Harold Wolpe Memorial Seminar 5 October 2008 [Online] Available wwwgooglecom

[2013 26 September]

Marx K 1999 Theories of surplus value Prometheus BooksHumanity Books (Amherst NY)

__________1990 Capital Volume One Trans Ben Fowkes London Penguin Books

253

__________1976 Capital Volume One Harmondsworth Penguin Books

__________1973 Grundrisse Foundations of the critique of political economy trans Martin

Nicolaus (New York 1973)

Mathega F 2009 Labour Relations (2nd Ed) New York Macmillan

Maxwell JA 1992 Understanding and validation in quantitative research Harvard Educational

Review 62(3) 279-299

McGrew A et al 1992 lsquoModernity and Its Futuresrsquo Cambridge Polity Press

McGuire D Garavan T ODonnell D amp Dineen D 2002 Labour market flexibility An

institutional theory perspectiverdquo Paper presented at the Irish Academy of Management

Conference Waterford Institute of Technology

Media M 2008 Essay on the effects of flexibility on labour market outcome Economics Markets

and Institutions Series IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucia Italy

Merriam S 1995 What can you tell from an n of l Issues of validity and reliability in qualitative

research PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning 4 50-60

Michie J amp Sheehan‐Quinn M 2001 Labour market flexibility human resource management and

corporate performance British Journal of Management 12(4) 287-306

Milios J 1989 The problem of capitalist development theoretical considerations in view of the

industrial countries and the new industrial countries Capitalist development and crisis theory

London Macmillan 154-173

Miller DC amp Salkind NJ (Eds) 2002 Handbook of research design and social

measurement Sage Publications Incorporated

Mohr GB 2000 The changing significance of different stressors after the announcement of

bankruptcy A longitudinal investigation with special emphasis on job insecurity Journal of

Organizational Behavior 21(3) 337-359

Mordi C amp Mmieh F 2009 Divided Labour and divided in-firm markets in the Nigerian

Petroleum sector Proceedings of the 10th International Academy of African Business and

Development

Muhl CJ 2001 The employment-at-will doctrine ldquothree major exceptionsrdquo Monthly Labour

Review 124(1) 3-11

Mythen G 2005 Employment individualization and insecurity rethinking the risk society

perspective The Sociological Review 53(1) 129-149

254

Nafukho FM Hairston N amp Brooks K 2004 Human capital theory implications for human

resource development Human Resource Development International 7(4) 545-551

Naumlswall K amp De Witte H 2003 Who feels insecure in Europe Predicting job insecurity from

background variables Economic and Industrial Democracy 24(2) 189-215

Nissim J 1984 An examination of the differential patterns in the cyclical behaviour of the

employment hours and wages of labour of different skills British Mechanical

engineering 1963-1978 Economica 51(204) 423-436

Nolan P 2004 Shaping Shaping the Future The Political Economy of Work and Employment

Industrial Relations Journal 3(35) 378-389

Nolan P amp Slater G 2003 The labour market history structure and prospects Industrial

Relations theory and practice 58-80

Noor KB 2008 Case study a strategic research methodology American Journal of Applied

Sciences 5(11) 1602

Norris N 1997 Error bias and validity in qualitative research Educational Action Research 5(1)

172-176

Odigie JA 2007 Informality and the prospects of microcredit and social protection as drivers of

poverty alleviation from below Lesson from Nigeria A Masterrsquos Thesis presented to the

Global Labour University University of Kassel and the Berlin school of Economics Germany

ODonnell C 1984 Major theories of the labour market and womens place within it Journal of

Industrial Relations 26(2) 147-165

Odozi DK 1986The development of trade unions in the Nigerian oil sector Retrieved September

24 2012 httpwwwpengassanorgPublicationspublicationhtm

Ogwunike FO Alaba OA Alaba OB Alayande BA amp Okojie CE 2000 Labour force

participation earning and inequality in Nigeria Unpublished

Ohiorhenuan JF 1989 Capital and the State in Nigeria Greenwood Press

Okafor EE 2007 Globalisation casualisation and capitalist business ethics a critical overview of

situation in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria Journal of Social Science 15(2) 169-179

Olaniyan DA amp Okemakinde T 2008 Human capital theory Implications for educational

development Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences 5(5) 479-483

Olowosile B 2004 ldquoNational oil and gas policy reforms Implication for labourrdquo In globalization

and the future of labour in Nigeria PENGASSAN Bulletin February-March

255

Olurinola IO amp Fadayomi T 2013 Youth labour market outcomes in Nigeria Evidence from

National Labour Market Survey

Omeje K 2005 Oil conflict in Nigeria contending issues and perspectives of the local Niger

Delta people New Political Economy 10(3) 321-334

Omeje KC 2006 High stakes and stakeholders Oil conflict and security in Nigeria

Osterman P 2001 Flexibility and commitment in the United States labour market

International Labour Organization London Ashgate Publishing

____________2000 Work reorganization in an era of restructuring Trends in diffusion and

effects on employee welfare Industrial and Labour Relations Review 179-196

OrsquoSullivan E and Rassel GR1999 Research methods for public administration 3rd ed USA

Longman Incorporation

Otobo D 1988 State and industrial relations in Nigeria Lagos Malthouse Press

Owoye O 1994 Wage determination and strike activity in Nigeria Journal of African

Economies 3(3) 447-480

Oyebode A 2004 Labour market reforms in Nigeriarsquos state-owned enterprises A PhD Thesis

submitted to the Department of Economics University of Ibadan Paas T Eamets R Masso J amp Rotildeotildem M 2003 Labour market flexibility and migration in the

Baltic States Macro evidences University of Tartu Economics amp Business Administration

Working Paper (16)

Page C and Meyer D 2000 Applied research design for business and management London

McGraw-Hill

Patton MQ 2001 Qualitative evaluation and research methods (3rd Ed) Thousand Oaks

CA Sage Publications Inc

Pearce JL 1998 Job insecurity is important but not for the reasons you might think The example

of contingent workers In CL Cooper amp DM Rousseau (Eds)Trends in Organizational

Behavior (5 31-46) New York NY Wiley

Peck J Theodore N amp Ward K 2005 Constructing markets for temporary labour

employment liberalization and the internationalization of the staffing industry Global

Networks 5(1) 3-26

Peck J 1996 Work-place The social regulation of labor markets Guilford Press

256

Peel M 2005 lsquoCrisis in the Niger Delta how failures of transparency and accountability are

destroying the regionrsquo Chatham house armed non-state actors project briefing paper London

Royal Institute for International Affairs

Pfeffer J amp Cohen Y 1984 Determinants of internal labor markets in organizations

Administrative Science Quarterly 550-572

Piore M J 1975 Notes for a theory of labor market segmentation R Edwards et al

Lexington Mass DC Heath (125-35)

Polanyi K 1944 The great transformation economic and political origins of our time Rinehart

New York

Polivca AE 1996 ldquoContingent and alternative work arrangement definedrdquo Monthly Labour Review

119 3

Postone M Galambos L amp Sewell J E 1995 Time labour and social domination A

reinterpretation of Marxrsquos critical theory London Cambridge University Press

Procter S amp Ackroyd S 2006 Flexibility Contemporary human resource management London

England Prentice HallFinancial Times

Reich (ed) 2008 Segmented Labour Market and Labour Mobility (Cheltenham Edward Elgar)

Reich M Gordon DM amp Edwards RC 1973 A theory of labor market segmentation The

American Economic Review 359-365

Reaves M 1992 Quantitative research for behavioural scientists USA John Willey Press

Reuters (2013 October 10) Shell Nigeria selling 4 delta oil blocks sources Retrieved October 11

2013 from wwwzanewsyahoocomhttpzanewsyahoocomshell-nigeria-selling-4-delta-

oil-blocks-sources-135120113-

Rodgers G 1989 Precarious work in Western Europe The state of the precarious jobs in labour

market regulation The Growth of Atypical Employment in Western Europe Rodgers G amp

Robert J (Eds) International Labour Organization (International Institute for Labour Studies)

Geneva

Roemer JE 1985 Should Marxists be interested in exploitation Philosophy amp Public Affairs 30-

65

Rogers G 2007 Labour market flexibility and decent work DESA Working Paper No 47

httpwwwunorgesadesapaper

Rogers J 2000 Temps The many faces of the changing workplace Cornell University Press

257

Rosemberg S 2007 lsquoFrom segmentation to flexibility to segmentation amidst flexibility The Case

of the United Statesrsquo Economies Et Societies Serie Socio-Economie Du Travail 28 897-924

________________1989 lsquoFrom segmentation to flexibility a selective surveyrsquo Labour and

Society 14 (4) 363-407

Rosenblatt Z amp Ruvio A 1996 A test of a multidimensional model of job insecurity The case of

Israeli teachers Journal of Organizational Behavior 17 587-605

Rousseau DM 1999 Virtual workplaces Implications for organizational behavior In C L Cooper

amp D M Rousseau (Ed) Trends in organizational behavior 5 1-14 NY Wiley

Rubery J 1994 Internal and external labour markets towards an integrated analysis Employer

Strategies and the Labour Market London Oxford University Press

Rule P amp Vaughn J 2011 Your guide to a case study research Pretoria Van Schaik Publishers

Saint-Paul G 1998 A framework for analyzing the political support for active labor market

policy Journal of Public Economics 67(2) 151-165

____________ 1996 Dual labour markets A macroeconomic perspective The MIT Press

Sakamoto A amp Chen MD 1986 Inequality and attainment in a dual labor market American

Sociological Review 295-308

Salkind NJ 1997 Exploring Research (3rd Ed) New Jersey Upper Saddle River Prentice Hall

Inc

Salvance KG 1997 lsquoMarket rigidities and labour market flexibilities an international

comparisonrsquo Scandinavian Journal of Economics 99 315-333

Sassen S 1997 Informalisation in advanced market economies Development Policies

Department International Labour Office

Saunders MN Lewis P amp Thornhill A 2009 Research methods for business students 5th ed

England Pearson Educational Limited

Saxena BJ1995 Practical research methods London Verso Publishing Company

Schmidt J D 2006 Flexicurity casualisation and informalisation of global labour markets

Globalization and conflicts London Macmillan Press

Schoenberger E 1986 The corporate interview as a research method in economic geography The

Professional Geographer 43(2) 180-189

Scott WR 2001 Institutions and organizations Thousand Oaks CA Sage Publications

258

__________1995 Introduction Institutional theory and organizations The institutional

construction of organizations London Sage Publications

Seale C 1999 Quality in qualitative research Qualitative Inquiry 5(4) 465-478

Sekeran U 1992 Research Methods for Business A Skill Building Approach 2nd ed New York

John Willey amp Sons

Serfati C 2001 The adaptability of the French Armaments Industry in an Era of Globalization

Industry and Innovation 8(2) 221-239

Seuring SA 2008 Assessing the rigor of case study research in supply chain management

Supply Chain Management An International Journal 13(2) 128-137

Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) 2001 People and the Environment Annual

Reportrsquo SPDC Lagos Nigeria

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) 2004 People and the Environment Annual Report

SPDC Lagos Press

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) 2012 People and the Environment Annual

Report SPDC Lagos Nigeria



Silver JB 2003 Forces of labour USA Cambridge University Press

Simon J amp Burstein W 1992 Basic research methods and social science New York Random

House

Smock D 2009 lsquolsquoCrisis in the Niger Deltarsquorsquo United States Institute of Peace

Solidarity Center 2012 The degradation of work Oil and Casualisation of labour in the Niger

Delta wwwsolidaritycenterorg

Stake RE 2005 Qualitative case studies In NK Denzin amp YS Lincoln (Eds) Handbook of

Qualitative Research Pp 236-247 Thousand Oaks CA Sage Publications

___________1995 The art of case study research Thousand Oaks CA Sage

___________1978 The case study method in social inquiry Educational researcher 5-8

Standing G 2014 A Precariat Charter From Denizens to Citizens London and New York

Bloomsbury Academic

___________2011 The Precariat The New Dangerous Class London and New York Bloomsbury

Academic

259

___________2008 Economic insecurity and global casualisation threat or promise Social

Indicators Research 88(1) 15-30

_____________1999 Global Labour Flexibility Seeking Distributive Justice London

Macmillan press

_____________1997 Globalization labour flexibility and insecurity The era of market regulation

European Journal of Industrial Relations 3(1) 7-37

_____________1986 Unemployment and labour market flexibility International Labour Office

Geneva

Standing G Sender J amp Weeks J 1996 Restructuring the labour market Geneva International

Labour Organization

Stenbacka C 2001 Qualitative research requires quality concepts of its own Management

decision 39(7) 551-556

Storey J Quintas P Tayloy P amp Fowle W 2002 Flexible employment contracts and their

implications for product and process innovation International Journal of Human Resource


Sverke M Hellgren J amp Naumlswall K 2006 Job insecurity A literature review

Arbetslivsinstitutet

_________________2002 The nature of job insecurity understanding employment uncertainty on

the brink of new millennium Applied Psychology An International Review 51 23ndash42

Sverke M Hellgren J amp Naumlswall K 2002 No security a meta-analysis and review of job and its

consequences Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 7 242-264

Swanson RA 1999 The foundations of performance improvement and implications for practice

Advances in Developing Human Resources 1(1) 1-25

Sweeney S 2006 temporary agency work in the United States European Foundation for the

Improvement of Living and Working Conditions European Commission Representative

Office Berlin Theory The American Economic Review 65(2) 16-22

Theron J 2005 ldquoEmployment is not what it used to be The nature and impact of work restructuring

in South Africardquo In Webster E and Von Holdt K (Eds) Beyond the apartheid work place

Studies in Transition Durban University Of KwaZulu- Natal Press

Thompson P 1990 Crawling from the wreckage The labour process and the politics of

production Labour Process Theory 95-124

260

Thompson P 1997 The nature of work An introduction to debates on the labour process (5th ed)

Palgrave Macmillan

Torka N amp Schyns B 2007 On the transferability of ldquotraditionalrdquo satisfaction theory to non-

traditional employment relationships temp agency work satisfaction Employee Relations

29(5) 440-457

Tokman VE 2007 The informal economy insecurity and social cohesion in Latin America

International Labour Review 146(1‐2) 81-107

Toslashrres L amp Gunnes S 2003 Global framework agreements A new tool for international

labour Fafo

Treu T 1992 Labour flexibility in Europe International Labour Review 131 497

Trochim WM amp Donnelly JP 2007 Research methods knowledge base (3rd Ed) Mason OH

Thomson

Try S 2004 The role of flexible work in the transition from higher education into the labour

market Journal of Education and Work 17(1) 27-45

Turner T E1986 Oil workers and the oil bust in Nigeria Africa Today 33-50

Uumlnsal-Akbıyık BS Ccedilakmak-Otluoğlu KO amp De Witte H 2012 Job insecurity and affective

commitment in seasonal versus permanent workers International Journal of Humanities and

Social Science 2(24) 14-20

Vallas S 1999 lsquoRethinking post-fordism meaning of workplace flexibilityrsquo Sociological Theory

(68) 68-102

Valverde M Tregaskis O amp Brewster C 2000 Labour flexibility and firm performance

International Advances in Economic Research 6(4) 649-661

Vijayabaskar M 2005 Flexible accumulation and labour markets Case of the tirupur knitwear

cluster Indian Industrial Clusters Ashgate England 37-53

von Hippel C Mangum SL Greenberger DB Heneman RL amp Skoglind JD1997 Temporary

employment can organizations and employees both win The Academy of Management

Executive 11(1) 93-104)

Voudorous I 2007 The co-evolution of functional and numerical flexibility technology and

networking matters New Technology Work and Employment 22(3) 224-245

261

Wachter ML Gordon RA Piore MJ amp Hall RE (1974) Primary and secondary labour

markets A critique of the dual approach Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (3) 637-

693

Watts M 2004 Resource curse Governmentality oil and power in the Niger Delta Nigeria

Geopolitics 9 (1) 50-80

Webster E amp Von Holdt K 2005 Work restructuring and the crisis of social reproduction A

southern perspective Beyond the apartheid workplace Studies in transition 3-38

Weiss RS 1995 Learning from strangers The art and method of qualitative interview studies

Simon and Schuster

Weller J 2001 Economic Reforms Growth and Employment Labour Market in Latin America and

the Caribbeanrsquos Santiago Chile

Western B amp Beckett K 1999 How unregulated is the US labour market The penal system as a

labour market institution American Journal of Sociology 104(4) 1030 60

Wieling M amp Borghans L 2001 Discrepancies between supply and demand and adjustment

processes in the labour market Labour 15(1) 33-56

Wilkinson D amp Birmingham P 2009 Using research instruments A guide for researchers

Routledge Falmer

Wolff J 1999 Marx and exploitation The Journal of Ethics 3(2) 105-120

Wolmann MN 2001 Job insecurity and work intensification London Routledge

Wood A 1998 Globalization and the rise in labour market inequalities The Economic Journal

108(450) 1463-1482

Yin RK 2003 Case study research Design and methods (3rd ed) Thousand Oaks CA Sage

Publications

____________ 1999 Enhancing the quality of case studies in health service research Health

Service Research 34(5) 1209-1224

____________1981 The case study crisis Some answers Administrative Science Quarterly 26(1)

58-65

Zalik A 2004 The Niger Delta lsquoPetro violencersquo and lsquopartnership developmentrsquo Review of African

Political Economy 31(101) 401-424

262

Zeytinoglu I Yilmaz G Keser A Inelmen K Uygur D amp Oumlzsoy A 2012 Job

satisfaction flexible employment and job security among Turkish service sector workers

Economic and Industrial Democracy 0143831X11434845

Zhao S 2008 Application of human capital theory in China in the context of the knowledge

economy The International Journal of Human Resource Management 19(5) 802-817

Zikmund WG amp Babin BJ 2013 Business research methods 9th ed South-Western Cengage

Learning

263

Appendix 1

Labour Reforms and their impact on employment security in Shell Petroleum Development

Company in Nigeria

Shell employees questionnaire

A Demographic Information

1 Age

18-27

28-37

38-47

48-57

58 +

2 Gender

3 Marital Status

Single

Married

Divorced

Widow

Separated

Male

Female

264

4 Income per Month

N18000 ndash N50000

N51000 ndash N100000

N101000 ndash N150000

N151000 ndash N200000

N201000 ndash N300000

N301000 +

5 Departments

Admin

Marketing

Finance

HRM

Accounting

Procurement

Legal

Engineering

Other Specify

B Educational Information

___________________________________________________________________________

1 Educational Level

Primary

Secondary

Matriculation

Tertiary

2 Type of Skill Possessed

_________________________________________________________________________________

265

C Implementation of Labour reforms (flexibility trends)

1 When did you join the Company

1-5

6-10

11- 15

16- 20

2 Are you a Permanent Contract or Temporary Worker

Permanent

Contract

Temporary

21 If on contract how long is your contract

Under 1 year

1-3 years

4-6 years

7+ years

22 If temporary what category of atypical worker do you fall into

a OutsourcedAgency worker

b Contract

c Part-time

d Casual

e Temporary

3 Briefly explain the current employment conditions under which you work

helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip




266

4 Briefly explain as to how your working conditions were prior to the implementation of reforms

(flexibility trends) in the Shell Petroleum Development Company




5 What types of labour market reforms were implemented in the Oil Producing Sector of the

Nigerian Economy that affected you





6 What was the rationale behind the implementation of reforms in Shell Petroleum Development

Company





7 Were you satisfied with the reason given to you as an employee at Shell with regards to the


Yes

No

Donrsquot know

71 If you were not satisfied explain why



267



8 As far as you know were these reforms consulted negotiated with the labour formations that

represent the work force in Shell Petroleum Development Company

81 If consulted negotiated how was it done





9 What has been the impact of these reforms on your terms and condition of employment as an

individual worker at Shell Petroleum Development Company





10 What is your own impression of the use of segmentedcontract workers in Shell Petroleum

Development Company






Yes

No

Donrsquot know

268

11 Have your earnings changed to the better worse since the implementation of the reforms

Explain in what way

12 Briefly explain whether you are still able to sustain your livelihood in the post-reform era

13 What roles do you think the government should play in the PetroleumOil and gas sector labour

market reforms





helliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphelliphellip

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME

269

Appendix 2

Employers Questionnaire

1 What are the types of labour market reforms (flexibility trends) did you implemented in the oil

producing sector in Nigeria







2 What were the reasons for these reforms (flexibility trends) being implemented in Shell







3 Which of these reforms have mostly benefited Shell Petroleum Development Company with

regards to cost cutting






270

4 Were these reforms negotiatedconsulted with employeesrsquo representatives

Yes

No

Donrsquot know

41 If yes how were these reforms (flexibility trends) negotiated consulted with labour formation






5 What challenges have you encountered as accompany after the implementation of flexibility

trends






6 Briefly explain whether the agreement reached with the labour unions were implemented to the

labour formation satisfaction






271

7 What has Shell done to ensure that contractual temporary workers are incorporated as part of the

core workforce





8 Can you elaborate as what is the stance of the company on contractualtemporary workers





9 What do you think needs to be done to ensure that the company and the labour formations work

towards a common goal





10 What do you think Shell should do to address the grievances of the labour formations in respect

of the labour market reforms (flexibility trends) that are ongoing






272

Appendix 3

Questions posed to Government officials

1 What was the role-played by the Government and its agencies in the introduction and


2 Were these reforms conceived by the Government or the organised private sectors

3 What forms of intervention did the government initiated to regulate the various types of labour


4 What have the Government done to ensure a labour friendly environment in the Petroleum sector

5 How is Shell Petroleum Development Company compliance with legislations pertaining to labour

flexibility implementation

6 What are the dispute resolution mechanisms enacted by government to effectively regulate deal

with disputes emanating from non-compliance with regulations

273

ii

Declaration

I Ibukun Olorunisola Kolawole declare that the research reported in this thesis except where

otherwise indicated and is my original research This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or

examination at any other university This thesis does not contain other personsrsquo data pictures graphs

or other information unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons This

thesis does not contain other personsrsquo writing unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced

from other researchers Where other written sources have been quoted their words have been re-

written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced Where their exact words

have been used their writing has been placed inside quotation marks and referenced This thesis

does not contain text graphics or tables copied and pasted from the internet unless specifically

acknowledged and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the references sections

22 January 2013

Signed

iii

Acknowledgements















financially












iv



v

Dedication



vi

Abstract

























Nigeria

vii

Table of Contents





Chapter One

The New World Order








Chapter Two

Literature Review






viii












Chapter Three






ix











Chapter Four









x

























xi

Chapter Five






Chapter Six









Chapter Seven





xii








List of Figures













xiii







List of Tables









xiv


BPD Barrel Per Day









JIT Just in Time

















2

Chapter One

The New World Order


11 Introduction


















2014 Harvey 1989)





3




























4






















the employer







5





























6





12 Background









dual labour market















7





























8




















laws









9


workers

























employment cheaply)

10




























11




(2008)









world


12


Outlook (2008)












13 Hypothesis


13












labour market





sector in Nigeria







and livelihoods




14

























matter





15


























labour market

16















Nigeria

17

Chapter Two


21 Introduction

























18


that are available


























19





























20




labour movements


























21














might differ









by the firm





22





Wage Flexibility























23




























24





tendency
























25




























26





























27

























national government

28





























29


























30




























31





























union

32





























33




























34
























systems develop





35

















flexibility












36




























37











society


organisation


and












38
















permanent workers













39




















work









40





















of 1995






41






























42




























43





























44





















exchange






45
















advancement













46




























47









Nigeria



















48






























49










times


















50




















workers








permanent

51

























amp Hahn 1999)





52




























53



work organisation



























54



















Ministry of Labour









and Productivity

55




























56













encouraged















57




























58





Statistics 1990)
























59












(Rodgers 1989 11)





(Omeje 2005)










60














214 Conclusion














61






















62

Chapter Three


31 Introduction

























63






























64






















by reforms






65
















supply and demand














66




























67





























68


progress




























69





























70












20015)


















71



Over-accumulation

























Bohm-Bawerk

72






























73




sectors























2009)

74




























75



















commodities









76






wages
























77





























78






























79





























80





characteristics
























81




supply























82



























83

38 Conclusion





























84








policy




Shell Nigeria

85

Chapter Four




41 Introduction























86

















reformsrsquo









employment security

87














sector in Nigeria







and livelihoods









88















problem













89




441 Population
























90

442 Sampling Design




























91








sample




















92



























93


























analysis of data

94






















factor displayed







95

























Nigeria




96





























97





























98














events











investigation



99




491 Questionnaire
























100







2004207 and De Vos et al 2005167)






















101














in this study















102


























103













492 Interview

















104





























105













conducted into it












106















413 Conclusion















107










108

Chapter Five


51 Introduction







3)














109



18- 27 100 329

28-37 61 201

38-37 90 296

48-57 47 155

58+ 6 2

Total 304 100











Male 138 455

Female 166 546

Total 304 100






110


employment profile



Single 106 349

Married 171 563

Divorced 5 16

Widow 4 13

Separated 18 59

Total 304 100




are widowed



N18000 - N50000 27 89

N51000- N100000 76 250

N101000- N150000 55 181

N151000- N200000 92 303

N201000- N300000 34 112

N301000 + 20 66

Total 304 100




111






Admin 60 197

Marketing 46 151

Finance 18 59


Accounts 22 72

Procurement 8 26

Legal 7 23

Engineering 80 263

Logistics 5 16

Security 4 13

Total 304 100








112








investigation




Marketing 38 142

Electrical 28 105

Accounting 27 101

Technical 21 79





Mechanical 9 34

Legal Skills 7 26

Managerial 2 07

Budgeting 8 30


Secondary 19 63

Matriculation 28 92

Tertiary 256 845

Total 303 100

113

Security 4 15

Total 267 100






managerial skills


Company









114




























115






























116






























117






























118
























years






119

























other classes





120




















07

52



121





























122






























123


















124




with 11 (7)



















7+ years





125






























126






























127

















temporary

128































129




to this class













130






























131






























132
















employment














133






























134


















135





























136














to other companies
















137


















companies












138














companies















139





























140


















141






























142






























143



peripheral workers



























144






















secondary education








145



























peripheral worker

146




















147




























148

















market













149






























150






























151















market














152







of Reforms

97

551

352Yes

No

Dont Know











153










said yes



















154





























155






























156





























157




























158



















159


376

624

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No

















160


before



























161



members


























162






























163





























164


consultation




















said yes






165










none affirmed




















166








formations













167





labour formations













168



























government

169






























170



















171





























172






of work























173























life






174


working life



























175

















working life














176




























real wages

177



















178




















respectively









unpleasant

179





























180


















now unpleasant












181































182































183






























184


















185





























186




























187












themselves


















188










difficult




















189




















442

271 286

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50



190




























191





























192






























193













it is difficult
















194





























195


















196


working conditions

























197





























198






conditions










in the workplace














199




















atypical employment









200






























201





























202











conditions



















203






























204


















questionnaires










205






















relations






206





















sector



involved




207











employees









sector










208



petroleum sector






agencies








sector










209


Labour




market reforms








sector







implementation









210




relationship



in Nigeria





reforms


sector








carried out









211





market reforms









sector

















212











sector



sector










resolved







213








sector


















are outline below

214

Age Gender Marital

status


of

skills

Age

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

1

304

-096

093

304

452

000

304

653

000

304

203

000

304

416

000

303

029

642

267

Marital Status

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

452

000

304

269

000

304

1

304

134

020

304

296

000

304

178

002

303

179

003

267

Income

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

653

000

304

-262

000

304

134

020

304

1

304

245

000

304

524

000

303

069

259

267

Department

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

203

000

304

-086

136

304

296

000

304

245

000

304

1

304

126

028

303

533

000

267

215

N

Education

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

416

000

303

-135

019

303

178

002

303

524

000

303

126

028

303

1

303

-

250

000

267

Types of Skill

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

029

642

267

144

018

267

179

003

267

069

259

267

533

000

267

-250

000

267

1

267

Table 8 Correlation












216






insecurity























217






55 Conclusion








218

Chapter Six






61 Introduction










in Nigeria










219










implemented

















this investigation

220




























221


























222





























223




























224






























225














67 Conclusion







226

Chapter Seven



Oil job is not good


Who can drink oil

Impossible





71 Introduction






no longer existing




company





227


























72 Findings



findings include

228

721 Unemployment

























229













of the vandals
















230

























231




























232



















companies










233




is hereby suggested






















234






countries







76 Conclusion
















235




236

References



6(1) 59-70




No1477























213

237





252-276




Paulo Boitempo






















238




26-28









Economics 96-128



















239





















Economy 385-409










240



















Policy 21(45) 5-59












241































11(2) 629-657

242



191























381


Publications



Texas

243




Affairs 8(4) 338-360
















Practice 39(3) 124-131








research 12(2) 279-289



244


















(75) 792-805






(WZB)









245














Labour Organization

















246







71









University Press






Research






Quarterly 19(3) 457-478



247


Press




Based Medicine






report 8(4) 597-607




















248





at Risk London Sage










23(3) 239-254






Economic Research




14(5) 575-599


Journal 12


96

249


















httpcalicemorg



Labour Studies










of Natal

250



15(6) 459-475










282-292









29(1) 90-112


Winston



Chicago



251










Economics 22(3) 387-396




Arnold












45(1) 281-290




Economics 699-726

252


Economics 232-254



























[2013 26 September]



253






Review 62(3) 279-299





















Development


Review 124(1) 3-11



254













Sciences 5(11) 1602


172-176

















255


















Working Paper (16)


McGraw-Hill








Networks 5(1) 3-26


256









New York


119 3















Geneva


65




257




Society 14 (4) 363-407














Inc













258













SPDC Lagos Press







House









Bloomsbury Academic


Academic

259




Macmillan press




Geneva


Labour Organization


decision 39(7) 551-556




















260


Palgrave Macmillan



29(5) 440-457




labour Fafo



Thomson








(68) 68-102







Executive 11(1) 93-104)



261



693






Simon and Schuster








Routledge Falmer




108(450) 1463-1482


Publications




58-65



262







Learning

263

Appendix 1


Company in Nigeria



1 Age

18-27

28-37

38-47

48-57

58 +

2 Gender

3 Marital Status

Single

Married

Divorced

Widow

Separated

Male

Female

264

4 Income per Month

N18000 ndash N50000

N51000 ndash N100000

N101000 ndash N150000

N151000 ndash N200000

N201000 ndash N300000

N301000 +

5 Departments

Admin

Marketing

Finance

HRM

Accounting

Procurement

Legal

Engineering

Other Specify


___________________________________________________________________________

1 Educational Level

Primary

Secondary

Matriculation

Tertiary


_________________________________________________________________________________

265



1-5

6-10

11- 15

16- 20


Permanent

Contract

Temporary


Under 1 year

1-3 years

4-6 years

7+ years



b Contract

c Part-time

d Casual

e Temporary






266













Company







Yes

No

Donrsquot know




267

















Development Company






Yes

No

Donrsquot know

268


Explain in what way



market reforms







269

Appendix 2
























270


Yes

No

Donrsquot know








trends













271


core workforce























272

Appendix 3












273

iii

Acknowledgements















financially












iv



v

Dedication



vi

Abstract

























Nigeria

vii

Table of Contents





Chapter One

The New World Order








Chapter Two

Literature Review






viii












Chapter Three






ix











Chapter Four









x

























xi

Chapter Five






Chapter Six









Chapter Seven





xii








List of Figures













xiii







List of Tables









xiv


BPD Barrel Per Day









JIT Just in Time

















2

Chapter One

The New World Order


11 Introduction


















2014 Harvey 1989)





3




























4






















the employer







5





























6





12 Background









dual labour market















7





























8




















laws









9


workers

























employment cheaply)

10




























11




(2008)









world


12


Outlook (2008)












13 Hypothesis


13












labour market





sector in Nigeria







and livelihoods




14

























matter





15


























labour market

16















Nigeria

17

Chapter Two


21 Introduction

























18


that are available


























19





























20




labour movements


























21














might differ









by the firm





22





Wage Flexibility























23




























24





tendency
























25




























26





























27

























national government

28





























29


























30




























31





























union

32





























33




























34
























systems develop





35

















flexibility












36




























37











society


organisation


and












38
















permanent workers













39




















work









40





















of 1995






41






























42




























43





























44





















exchange






45
















advancement













46




























47









Nigeria



















48






























49










times


















50




















workers








permanent

51

























amp Hahn 1999)





52




























53



work organisation



























54



















Ministry of Labour









and Productivity

55




























56













encouraged















57




























58





Statistics 1990)
























59












(Rodgers 1989 11)





(Omeje 2005)










60














214 Conclusion














61






















62

Chapter Three


31 Introduction

























63






























64






















by reforms






65
















supply and demand














66




























67





























68


progress




























69





























70












20015)


















71



Over-accumulation

























Bohm-Bawerk

72






























73




sectors























2009)

74




























75



















commodities









76






wages
























77





























78






























79





























80





characteristics
























81




supply























82



























83

38 Conclusion





























84








policy




Shell Nigeria

85

Chapter Four




41 Introduction























86

















reformsrsquo









employment security

87














sector in Nigeria







and livelihoods









88















problem













89




441 Population
























90

442 Sampling Design




























91








sample




















92



























93


























analysis of data

94






















factor displayed







95

























Nigeria




96





























97





























98














events











investigation



99




491 Questionnaire
























100







2004207 and De Vos et al 2005167)






















101














in this study















102


























103













492 Interview

















104





























105













conducted into it












106















413 Conclusion















107










108

Chapter Five


51 Introduction







3)














109



18- 27 100 329

28-37 61 201

38-37 90 296

48-57 47 155

58+ 6 2

Total 304 100











Male 138 455

Female 166 546

Total 304 100






110


employment profile



Single 106 349

Married 171 563

Divorced 5 16

Widow 4 13

Separated 18 59

Total 304 100




are widowed



N18000 - N50000 27 89

N51000- N100000 76 250

N101000- N150000 55 181

N151000- N200000 92 303

N201000- N300000 34 112

N301000 + 20 66

Total 304 100




111






Admin 60 197

Marketing 46 151

Finance 18 59


Accounts 22 72

Procurement 8 26

Legal 7 23

Engineering 80 263

Logistics 5 16

Security 4 13

Total 304 100








112








investigation




Marketing 38 142

Electrical 28 105

Accounting 27 101

Technical 21 79





Mechanical 9 34

Legal Skills 7 26

Managerial 2 07

Budgeting 8 30


Secondary 19 63

Matriculation 28 92

Tertiary 256 845

Total 303 100

113

Security 4 15

Total 267 100






managerial skills


Company









114




























115






























116






























117






























118
























years






119

























other classes





120




















07

52



121





























122






























123


















124




with 11 (7)



















7+ years





125






























126






























127

















temporary

128































129




to this class













130






























131






























132
















employment














133






























134


















135





























136














to other companies
















137


















companies












138














companies















139





























140


















141






























142






























143



peripheral workers



























144






















secondary education








145



























peripheral worker

146




















147




























148

















market













149






























150






























151















market














152







of Reforms

97

551

352Yes

No

Dont Know











153










said yes



















154





























155






























156





























157




























158



















159


376

624

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No

















160


before



























161



members


























162






























163





























164


consultation




















said yes






165










none affirmed




















166








formations













167





labour formations













168



























government

169






























170



















171





























172






of work























173























life






174


working life



























175

















working life














176




























real wages

177



















178




















respectively









unpleasant

179





























180


















now unpleasant












181































182































183






























184


















185





























186




























187












themselves


















188










difficult




















189




















442

271 286

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50



190




























191





























192






























193













it is difficult
















194





























195


















196


working conditions

























197





























198






conditions










in the workplace














199




















atypical employment









200






























201





























202











conditions



















203






























204


















questionnaires










205






















relations






206





















sector



involved




207











employees









sector










208



petroleum sector






agencies








sector










209


Labour




market reforms








sector







implementation









210




relationship



in Nigeria





reforms


sector








carried out









211





market reforms









sector

















212











sector



sector










resolved







213








sector


















are outline below

214

Age Gender Marital

status


of

skills

Age

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

1

304

-096

093

304

452

000

304

653

000

304

203

000

304

416

000

303

029

642

267

Marital Status

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

452

000

304

269

000

304

1

304

134

020

304

296

000

304

178

002

303

179

003

267

Income

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

653

000

304

-262

000

304

134

020

304

1

304

245

000

304

524

000

303

069

259

267

Department

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

203

000

304

-086

136

304

296

000

304

245

000

304

1

304

126

028

303

533

000

267

215

N

Education

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

416

000

303

-135

019

303

178

002

303

524

000

303

126

028

303

1

303

-

250

000

267

Types of Skill

Pearson

Correlation

Sig (2-tailed)

N

029

642

267

144

018

267

179

003

267

069

259

267

533

000

267

-250

000

267

1

267

Table 8 Correlation












216






insecurity























217






55 Conclusion








218

Chapter Six






61 Introduction










in Nigeria










219










implemented

















this investigation

220




























221


























222





























223




























224






























225














67 Conclusion







226

Chapter Seven



Oil job is not good


Who can drink oil

Impossible





71 Introduction






no longer existing




company





227


























72 Findings



findings include

228

721 Unemployment

























229













of the vandals
















230

























231




























232



















companies










233




is hereby suggested






















234






countries







76 Conclusion
















235




236

References



6(1) 59-70




No1477























213

237





252-276




Paulo Boitempo






















238




26-28









Economics 96-128



















239





















Economy 385-409










240



















Policy 21(45) 5-59












241































11(2) 629-657

242



191























381


Publications



Texas

243




Affairs 8(4) 338-360
















Practice 39(3) 124-131








research 12(2) 279-289



244


















(75) 792-805






(WZB)









245














Labour Organization

















246







71









University Press






Research






Quarterly 19(3) 457-478



247


Press




Based Medicine






report 8(4) 597-607




















248





at Risk London Sage










23(3) 239-254






Economic Research




14(5) 575-599


Journal 12


96

249


















httpcalicemorg



Labour Studies










of Natal

250



15(6) 459-475










282-292









29(1) 90-112


Winston



Chicago



251










Economics 22(3) 387-396




Arnold












45(1) 281-290




Economics 699-726

252


Economics 232-254



























[2013 26 September]



253






Review 62(3) 279-299





















Development


Review 124(1) 3-11



254













Sciences 5(11) 1602


172-176

















255


















Working Paper (16)


McGraw-Hill








Networks 5(1) 3-26


256









New York


119 3















Geneva


65




257




Society 14 (4) 363-407














Inc













258













SPDC Lagos Press







House









Bloomsbury Academic


Academic

259




Macmillan press




Geneva


Labour Organization


decision 39(7) 551-556




















260


Palgrave Macmillan



29(5) 440-457




labour Fafo



Thomson








(68) 68-102







Executive 11(1) 93-104)



261



693






Simon and Schuster








Routledge Falmer




108(450) 1463-1482


Publications




58-65



262







Learning

263

Appendix 1


Company in Nigeria



1 Age

18-27

28-37

38-47

48-57

58 +

2 Gender

3 Marital Status

Single

Married

Divorced

Widow

Separated

Male

Female

264

4 Income per Month

N18000 ndash N50000

N51000 ndash N100000

N101000 ndash N150000

N151000 ndash N200000

N201000 ndash N300000

N301000 +

5 Departments

Admin

Marketing

Finance

HRM

Accounting

Procurement

Legal

Engineering

Other Specify


___________________________________________________________________________

1 Educational Level

Primary

Secondary

Matriculation

Tertiary


_________________________________________________________________________________

265



1-5

6-10

11- 15

16- 20


Permanent

Contract

Temporary


Under 1 year

1-3 years

4-6 years

7+ years



b Contract

c Part-time

d Casual

e Temporary






266













Company







Yes

No

Donrsquot know




267

















Development Company






Yes

No

Donrsquot know

268


Explain in what way



market reforms







269

Appendix 2
























270


Yes

No

Donrsquot know








trends













271


core workforce























272

Appendix 3












273

Documents

Labour reforms and their impact on employment security in